Mini pitches problems

bernyh

Hey so I am feeling like number one complainer at the moment... feels like all I do is complain

Anyhoo here we go again, been living in Applewood for nearly 6 years(well I have been told its not applewood but some other area, but we'll call it Applewood for this purpose)

Last year they built the new FAI mini pitches, which would have been grand if they built it where they had placed it on the planning permission as it was further back and out to a corner of the green area, hence making it away from the apartments it faces.

When they started building the pitches the built them about 6ft from the fencing, making it less than 20 ft from the apartments (no where near where it was placed on the image from the planning permission) I questioned this with the planning dept and was told as it was Fingal land it was allowed to be built anywhere on the green area.

The pitch is already becoming a major problem, it is supposed to be for children but there are gangs there day and night, shouting swearing, not to mention the rattle of the fencing when the ball it hit against it. I spoke to Fingal council about this and they told me they would erect a fence of trees (they did this, well 4 trees which will take about 20 years to make any difference to the noise)

I feel like I am constantly on the phone to the Gardai about the anti social behaviour of people using the pitch (today there was gangs of young fellas building joints on the pitch in full view, while mooning the apartments).

I am so pissed off about this as I feel Fingal should take responsibility for the area, it should be closed at a certain time of night (have seen people out there at 1.30am) the same as other park areas are it's so unfair, we have to deal with the noise from this pitch then it seems like its only stopped and people start coming home from the pub and playing music also causing us a nuisance (I know thats off topic but it seriously like as if one thing stops and another kicks in) Fingal wanted the pat on the back for supporting this intiative but want no part in making it a integrated part of the parks department.

I have emailed councillor Butler who has ignored me and also Fergus in the parks dept who has also ignored my questions..

Any suggestions on the next move?


Mainly the apartments here are rented, which means that if the tenants don't like the noise then they can move on when their lease is due up, unfortunately for us we bought and are stuck here for the long haul and I feel really lost about how we can improve the problem of noise and anti social behaviour.

TangyZizzle

Building joints?

Clarify.

Are they building houses? or Rolling joints?

bernyh

haa haa yeah theres no house building goin on only joint buildin

TangyZizzle

How do you know they're rolling joints? Are you close enough to smell them after they've been lit?

bernyh

if ur happy to troll then spend ur time doing it, I wont waste mine in answering you anymore

TangyZizzle

I'm not trolling, mate. I'm asking an honest question. You're accusing young people of public drug use without a shred of proof besides your word on what you can see from your apartment 20 feet away.

bernyh

right so, my apartment is bang smack at the centre point of the pitch, i can plainly see lickin of rizla's (or some other skin material, then I see the holding of some small size brown item with a lighter under, I then see a crumbling motion onto the previously lcked rizlas, then another licking motion then another sprinkling motion, oh and then I hear "are u passing that or not" ffs we're all adults I've seen this in my younger years, I don't think its appropriate to do this in full view of peoples homes, I have a young daughter who I want to shield from such scenes WHY should I have to look out on it from my home? If I lived in a house I feel that people would be more understandable that this is unnacceptable, but cos we live in an apartment we are expected to put up with anything as we are some sort of underclass..

TangyZizzle

Fair enough, mate. Personally I think they could be doing far worse than getting high. But as you say they're doing it in public and full view of people's homes. I'm not sure what the law says about it but if I were you I'd be getting a snap of their faces and of them doing the deed. Surely that'll push the Gards to at least make an arrest.

rccaulfield

Public exposure and taking illegal drugs -u hold all the cards so keep ringing the cops on them, get onto your td telling them your councillor ignored u aswell! Sounds like a nightmare albeit hopefully a temporary one!

Eoineo

So the major problem as I see is that nobody is taking responsibility for the mini-pitches. If there was somebody taking responsibility for them then you would have them locked after a certain hour etc, etc.

When FCC put the pitches in place where they to be managed by another organisation? How are they maintained?

In my experience dealing with the Council on your own can be frustrating and you can be made to feel like a whinger or a crank. Is there not a residents' group in the area you can align yourself with? If not, consider setting one up as I'm sure you're not the only person with this problem.

There have been some major changes in the Council in the past year - which covers the responsibility of the mini-pitches. It just to be that you could just contact Parks if you had a problem. Now you need to be very clear as to whether it's "Sports & Recreation" or "Heritage" which leaves estates with green areas in a sort of bureaucratic limbo.

By the way when reporting anti-social behaviour to the Gardai be sure to get their badge number before hanging up on the phone. This has a much better effect than simply ringing, complaining and trusting that they will investigate your problem. You might also consider asking to speak to the Community Policing Officers for your area who could meet with you and walk around the offending pitches when it's quiet so that they can actually see how this impacts on your day to day living.

The Hill Billy

bernyh wrote: »

if ur happy to troll then spend ur time doing it, I wont waste mine in answering you anymore

Hi there. If you have a problem with a post - use the Report Post button & let a mod deal with it.
In this instance - TZ asked a valid question to clarify whether or not drug were being taken in a public place.

HB

Gabiria0

Hi, if you want to get in touch with resident's associations in the area you should contact the Community Officer (for the Applewood area) in Fingal County Council and I am sure they will put you in contact with them.

bernyh

Thanks for the replies and apologies for cross wires, I was pretty sure tangy was having a dig..

Eoino you hit the nail on the head, nobody is taking responsibility for the pitches and the council seem not to want to help out with the issue of anti social behaviour.

I hate calling the Gards as I am pretty sure they are like "oh her again" but honestly it can be unbearable sometimes.

I'm at home most of the day and its almost constant some days, we have lived here for 6 years and one thing I had liked about the area was the peace and quiet and watching the birds from the window on a nice day. Now it's like living beside a constant football match with thuggery thrown in. The language is terrible from some of the people using the pitch, there are gangs of adults hanging around drinking, we can't have our balcony door open anymore which we had always done since we moved in as the apartment gets very warm in the summer, but my daughter is picking up on the language, she's at that age where everything is soaked up like a sponge so we have to keep it closed to try and drown out the noise. Taken to using fans in the apartment.

I know I sound like an awful moaner, but I feel like they have totally invaded our home life by building it so close to us.

I hope that we can either start a residents association or possibly join up with one of the existing ones from neighbouring estates, but if anyone has any pointer of how to go about starting one I would be much appreciative.

Al71

Bernyh
Your not alone in your complaints about the mini pitch in Linear Park. Several of us complained at planning permission stage about the possible increase in antisocial behaviour, litter etc. We were told by Fingal that the facility would be managed locally i.e. Me, you and other residents. I have called the Garda several occasions about the behaviour of some of the people using the pitch and in inclement weather using the common areas in the building for their recreation. I asked Fingal did they include a social impact study in their tender documents and received no reply. The problem is there is only a few of us now that are owner occupiers and we are suffering along with tenants on long term leases. I think we need to just keep complaining to Fingal and the Garda and maybe some day something will be done.

bernyh

thanks to everyone who has replied and pm'd me on this subject, I am looking forward to discussing it further with others who are affected by this.

tonight I watched a personal episode of "skanger me banger" outside with the mini pitches, about 7 or 8pm a number of "skangered" starlets with lowered suspensions and other type vehicles with same type of skangerish add on's arrived at the mini pitches. 3 of them decided it was a better idea to double park on the far side of the road, thus preventing people entering the estate from the roundabout, I saw a number of cars having to reverse away toward the roundabout. They played football whilst one of the friends wanted to fix his bumper. My daughter goes to bed at 8.30pm on the dot (cos we're into a routine for her) come 9.30 she was still awake due to the eejit who decided it was ok to hammer his bumper into place outside our apartment.

At 10pm I decided enough was enough, companied with the hammering and his friends and the little red head gang screaming and playing ball I asked them to stop what they were doing and to remember that there were people living here and to show some respect.... in return I was told "why don't you go back to your own country" (I'm from the UK and married to an Irish man).

Well that was a red rag to a bull, I am seriously not a happy bunny, I rang the Gardai,I informed him I was annoyed about this and also that I felt I was racially abused (well if it's good for the goose) he after many awkward silences "basically it's nothin to do with us ring the council" when I ring the council they tell me it's a Gardai matter as it's anti social behaviour. Well thats not goin to wash anymore I am NOT going to accept this any longer it should either be taken away and rezoned or is secured and Gardai are informed there should not be anyone playing ball after a certain time at night and should be classed as anti social behaviour.

Its so angering as I always had my daughter well "trained" in a bedtime routine no matter wether it was summer or winter and this has seriously detrimented our family lifestyle.

Who is possibly going to take responsiblility for this? I am going to spend tommorow afternoon at fingal county council and I will not leave until I speak to someone who is involved with this.

Keep tuned for updates

bernyh

sitting here watching little red head gang attempting to pull down one of the fences of the pitch, quietly hoping they succeed, hopefully no "funding" to fix it!!!!

kaylen.

bernyh wrote: »

thanks to everyone who has replied and pm'd me on this subject, I am looking forward to discussing it further with others who are affected by this.

tonight I watched a personal episode of "skanger me banger" outside with the mini pitches, about 7 or 8pm a number of "skangered" starlets with lowered suspensions and other type vehicles with same type of skangerish add on's arrived at the mini pitches. 3 of them decided it was a better idea to double park on the far side of the road, thus preventing people entering the estate from the roundabout, I saw a number of cars having to reverse away toward the roundabout. They played football whilst one of the friends wanted to fix his bumper. My daughter goes to bed at 8.30pm on the dot (cos we're into a routine for her) come 9.30 she was still awake due to the eejit who decided it was ok to hammer his bumper into place outside our apartment.

At 10pm I decided enough was enough, companied with the hammering and his friends and the little red head gang screaming and playing ball I asked them to stop what they were doing and to remember that there were people living here and to show some respect.... in return I was told "why don't you go back to your own country" (I'm from the UK and married to an Irish man).

Well that was a red rag to a bull, I am seriously not a happy bunny, I rang the Gardai,I informed him I was annoyed about this and also that I felt I was racially abused (well if it's good for the goose) he after many awkward silences "basically it's nothin to do with us ring the council" when I ring the council they tell me it's a Gardai matter as it's anti social behaviour. Well thats not goin to wash anymore I am NOT going to accept this any longer it should either be taken away and rezoned or is secured and Gardai are informed there should not be anyone playing ball after a certain time at night and should be classed as anti social behaviour.

Its so angering as I always had my daughter well "trained" in a bedtime routine no matter wether it was summer or winter and this has seriously detrimented our family lifestyle.

Who is possibly going to take responsiblility for this? I am going to spend tommorow afternoon at fingal county council and I will not leave until I speak to someone who is involved with this.

Keep tuned for updates

Well id just like to say on this matter that I was one of the guys that u are referring to and don't see how you have the right to call me something out of skanger me banger? In matter of fact how dare you judge someone from a car? I don't know where you are actually getting you supped up starlets from , just goes to show how much of a small minded person you are to say that, the cars which you are referring to is a volswager golf, a lexis is200 and a Honda civic, the civic is what I am presuming you are calling a skanger well whatever you said, the guy who was fixing his bumper was out on the road yes and did make a bit of noise , but as both him and myself are residents in the block next to you , where his car was actually parked , has done nothing wrong, other residents came over and asked what had happened and he told them the same thing he told you, someone was after crashing into him and he was trying to fix it so he could get into work the next morning, the other residents accepted this and had no problem, then there was you, fair enough you had a small child in bed but I'm sure ur not the only one? You could have easily asked nicely instead of comin out with all guns blazing as you did, which is why my friend reacted the way he did, you just came across the exact same way you are here,a ignorant moaner, on the matter of the pitches, I see your complaint after complaint about these pitches now while your child is young, but will you still be complaining when. Your kid is older and wants to go and play , where you can easily keep an eye from your apartment, Or go over there with ease, I see the exact same kids over there day after day so I dont know where your getting your anti social behaviour from? Unless you call kicking a ball antisocial? Lighten up and deal with it, and stop moaning

Beasty

OK - this is the only warning that will be given on this point, and it applies to all posters. If you cannot keep the discussion civil, do not post. Whereas you can, within reason, attack the post, you should not get personal. Any more name calling can be expected to result in a ban for personal abuse

Thanks

Beasty

The Muppet

bernyh wrote: »

Hey so I am feeling like number one complainer at the moment... feels like all I do is complain


Last year they built the new FAI mini pitches, which would have been grand if they built it where they had placed it on the planning permission as it was further back and out to a corner of the green area, hence making it away from the apartments it faces.



The pitch is already becoming a major problem, it is supposed to be for children but there are gangs there day and night, shouting swearing, not to mention the rattle of the fencing when the ball it hit against it. I spoke to Fingal council about this and they told me they would erect a fence of trees (they did this, well 4 trees which will take about 20 years to make any difference to the noise)

I feel like I am constantly on the phone to the Gardai about the anti social behaviour of people using the pitch (today there was gangs of young fellas building joints on the pitch in full view, while mooning the apartments).

I am so pissed off about this as I feel Fingal should take responsibility for the area, it should be closed at a certain time of night (have seen people out there at 1.30am) the same as other park areas are it's so unfair, we have to deal with the noise from this pitch then it seems like its only stopped and people start coming home from the pub and playing music also causing us a nuisance (I know thats off topic but it seriously like as if one thing stops and another kicks in) Fingal wanted the pat on the back for supporting this intiative but want no part in making it a integrated part of the parks department.

I have emailed councillor Butler who has ignored me and also Fergus in the parks dept who has also ignored my questions..

Any suggestions on the next move?


Mainly the apartments here are rented, which means that if the tenants don't like the noise then they can move on when their lease is due up, unfortunately for us we bought and are stuck here for the long haul and I feel really lost about how we can improve the problem of noise and anti social behaviour.

How do you come to the conclusion that the pitches are only for kids, The guys playing football there pay their taxes, are they not entitled to play a game of football on them?

A football hitting the fence is not anti social behavior, Accusing these youths of drug abuse, racism and of partaking in antisocial behaviour is a serious slur on their character, I suggest you get concrete proof of this if you intend repeating it.

Fair play to the Guards and councillor Butler for not taking your nimbyism seriously , perhaps they know the youths of this area have had little enough facilities to keep them occupied and would rather see them playing football than hanging around on street corners par taking in actual antisocial behaviour.

bernyh wrote: »

thanks to everyone who has replied and pm'd me on this subject, I am looking forward to discussing it further with others who are affected by this.

tonight I watched a personal episode of "skanger me banger" outside with the mini pitches, about 7 or 8pm a number of "skangered" starlets with lowered suspensions and other type vehicles with same type of skangerish add on's arrived at the mini pitches. 3 of them decided it was a better idea to double park on the far side of the road, thus preventing people entering the estate from the roundabout, I saw a number of cars having to reverse away toward the roundabout. They played football whilst one of the friends wanted to fix his bumper. My daughter goes to bed at 8.30pm on the dot (cos we're into a routine for her) come 9.30 she was still awake due to the eejit who decided it was ok to hammer his bumper into place outside our apartment.

At 10pm I decided enough was enough, companied with the hammering and his friends and the little red head gang screaming and playing ball I asked them to stop what they were doing and to remember that there were people living here and to show some respect.... in return I was told "why don't you go back to your own country" (I'm from the UK and married to an Irish man).

Well that was a red rag to a bull, I am seriously not a happy bunny, I rang the Gardai,I informed him I was annoyed about this and also that I felt I was racially abused (well if it's good for the goose) he after many awkward silences "basically it's nothin to do with us ring the council" when I ring the council they tell me it's a Gardai matter as it's anti social behaviour. Well thats not goin to wash anymore I am NOT going to accept this any longer it should either be taken away and rezoned or is secured and Gardai are informed there should not be anyone playing ball after a certain time at night and should be classed as anti social behaviour.

Its so angering as I always had my daughter well "trained" in a bedtime routine no matter wether it was summer or winter and this has seriously detrimented our family lifestyle.

Who is possibly going to take responsiblility for this? I am going to spend tommorow afternoon at fingal county council and I will not leave until I speak to someone who is involved with this.

Keep tuned for updates

You appear to be of the opinion that everyone elses life should revolve around your daughters bedtime, do you not find this attitude a little selfish and unrealistic?

It's pretty common to have noise in a built up area at 8 o clock at night, most parents will have had experienced the problem of getting kids to sleep in early evening . Noise from a football game at this time of the evening is not anti social.

As you have been told the Guy fixing the car is a resident there so is entitled to fix his car outside his own apartment, the reality is that even at 10 pm he wasn't partaking in antisocial behaviour either. Just for your information he is also from The UK so he could not have being racist towards you.

Why do you appear to believe your family lifestyle should have precedence over others peoples lifestyle?

They are doing nothing wrong by playing football at eight o clock on a summers evening , I suggest you get on with your life and stop accusing your neighbours of being drug abusers and of partaking in anti social behaviour when it's apparent from what you have posted they are not.

I also suggest you stop badgering the local Gardai, it's not good if they are of the opinion of "oh not her again". The time may come when you have a legitimate complaint and are in real need of their assistance and they may be less likely to take you seriously.

Just for the record My son lives in your neighbouring apartment and after his days work he unwinds by playing a game of football in the mini pitch with his friends.He is no skanger or drug abuser.

bernyh

I won't dignify either muppet or Kaylen with much of an answer to any of the questions or statements as they are patently "friends" or possibly family. I have a right to live a peaceful life (which includes not to be threatened and Kaylen knows exactly what I mean by this.)

I will continue to try and make this area a nicer place to live in and hope that other residents be they owner occupiers or renters that we try and be considerate to others, if I wanted to cause noise which in my 6/7 years of living here I can honestly say I have never done I would be ashamed if I had caused hassle to someone else and caused their life to be disrupted. It's illegal to sound your horn in a built up area after a certain time so think about how hammering sounds, that law is there for a reason.


If by doing this I am on first name terms with the local Gardai then so be it, I will be happily nested in their little porch there on the main street.

One thing I will point out is that this pitch was built for children to use and not adults, I know this from the fingal planning permission documents and subsequent published documents. Look at page 2 of this link http://issuu.com/robheigh/docs/swords2 it is plainly stated it is not suitable for adult use. The planning documents are available to view in the fingal office for a fee if you would like to look at them to back up any further arguments.

That is all I will say on the matter and will not enter into any more discussions about how I am selfish to feel that we should live a peaceful life, as I truly believe that it is anyone's right to live a QUIET LIFE, I bought this place as a couple and would have never planned to live here with a family but due to circumstances outwith our control (ie we can't sell) we are forced to stay here, I will not be made to feel bad for making myself heard.

I look forward to the next meeting of all involved in the recent meeting regarding the mini pitches and again thank you for your help regarding this matter.

kaylen.

bernyh wrote: »

I won't dignify either muppet or Kaylen with much of an answer to any of the questions or statements as they are patently "friends" or possibly family. I have a right to live a peaceful life (which includes not to be threatened and Kaylen knows exactly what I mean by this.)

I will continue to try and make this area a nicer place to live in and hope that other residents be they owner occupiers or renters that we try and be considerate to others, if I wanted to cause noise which in my 6/7 years of living here I can honestly say I have never done I would be ashamed if I had caused hassle to someone else and caused their life to be disrupted. It's illegal to sound your horn in a built up area after a certain time so think about how hammering sounds, that law is there for a reason.


If by doing this I am on first name terms with the local Gardai then so be it, I will be happily nested in their little porch there on the main street.

One thing I will point out is that this pitch was built for children to use and not adults, I know this from the fingal planning permission documents and subsequent published documents. Look at page 2 of this link http://issuu.com/robheigh/docs/swords2 it is plainly stated it is not suitable for adult use. The planning documents are available to view in the fingal office for a fee if you would like to look at them to back up any further arguments.

That is all I will say on the matter and will not enter into any more discussions about how I am selfish to feel that we should live a peaceful life, as I truly believe that it is anyone's right to live a QUIET LIFE, I bought this place as a couple and would have never planned to live here with a family but due to circumstances outwith our control (ie we can't sell) we are forced to stay here, I will not be made to feel bad for making myself heard.

I look forward to the next meeting of all involved in the recent meeting regarding the mini pitches and again thank you for your help regarding this matter.

So you won't dignify a answer for either me or the muppet because we might be friends or family? Good reason!


Threaten??? If anyone had threathened you I'm sure you would have reported it to the gardai so did you not say anything in your op?? Looking for sympathy??

You have also stated that local gardai said it is nothing to do with them so you will continue to pester and badger them?? Have you nothing better to do??

You must have nothing else better to do if your looking up that the pitches are not for adult use at two o clock in the morning do you?? Are you serious?? What difference is there if there are adults using the pitch than kids , well the next time you see a group of adults on the pitch ring the council and see what they say,they might just erect a sign saying "for kids only" "no adults" that will help. You really must have nothing better to do with your time?? I suggest you take up a hobby because you are too bothered by all this ,it's sad tbh,

The Hill Billy

Boards is not a place for personal disputes & this thread has got way too personal. Closed.

HB