Belfast Council officials are looking for a public space for safe scrambling
Belfast’s Deputy Mayor has called for a dedicated scrambler site in the city to help combat dangerous and illegal activity which has been causing injury and damaging public spaces.
Elected members at a Belfast City Council committee meeting at City Hall this week approved a motion forwarded by SDLP Councillor and Deputy Mayor Paul Doherty urging a feasibility study for a dedicated scrambler site and programme.
The motion states: “This council recognises the serious risks and community concerns associated with illegal and reckless scrambler use across Belfast, where incidents have endangered lives, damaged public spaces, and affected community wellbeing.”
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Council officers are tasked with identifying a dedicated site for a scrambler programme in Belfast “to divert young people away from offending behaviour, rehabilitate those caught up in crime, provide vocational training and learning opportunities and create a safe, managed environment that works to remove scramblers from our streets and parks.”
Officers will undertake a land audit of council-owned sites to assess potential suitability, and identify potential stakeholders and collaborators, including relevant Stormont departments, the PSNI, youth and community organisations, and training providers.
Councillor Doherty said at the People and Communities Committee this week: “Across Belfast, illegal and reckless scrambler use is putting lives at risk, damaging our parks and pitches and wreaking havoc in communities. This is not a minor nuisance, it is a persistent city-wide problem.
“Police data shows the scale of it right across our city. Police have relayed to me they have dealt with over 1,300 scrambler-related incidents, (sometimes) two or three a day. Members here who represent communities beside parks and open spaces don’t need statistics to understand that, they hear it, see it, and act upon it.”
He said: “In 2016, Valerie Armstrong, a 35 year old mother was killed after being struck by a scrambler while walking her dog in the Colin Glen area of West Belfast. Her family’s bravery, and the campaign that followed, has kept this issue in the public eye. But it is continuing to spiral out of control. We owe it to them and every family that has experienced issues with scramblers in the community to take some form of meaningful action.
“The PSNI’s operation and the community campaign that grew from that tragedy have helped raise awareness and reduce some of the harm, but the truth is, condemnation alone won’t fix this problem. We need real solutions, one to protect lives, and also give young people, who are involved in this illegal scrambler use, better choices.”
He said a dedicated space would “draw young people using scramblers away from the streets, away from our parks, away from our shared spaces and communities, and into positive programmes.”
He added: “We have already seen what’s possible. In Newtownabbey, a motorcycle awareness project cut scrambler incidents by over 90 percent, offering training, maintenance skills, and supervised motorbike riding. In West Belfast, similar initiatives of short pilots help young people turn their lives around through apprenticeships and education.
“When you open up safe, maintained spaces, provide structure, and importantly opportunity, you can go some way to tackling this problem and changing that culture and mindset.”
Sinn Féin Councillor Micheal Donnelly said: “Some of the questions the feasibility study will have to tease out are the insurance issue, liability, how people get to and from the location safely, where the referrals come from, whether it be the PSNI or the Justice Agency.”
He said: “It is a real issue, it affects all our communities, and it does put members of the public at risk, and also those on the motorbikes. We will be interested to see what the feasibility study brings back. This is going to be a real challenge, if we do actually find somewhere. Local residents are the key stakeholders here.”
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