Published: Thursday, 23rd July, 2009 12:24pm

Crowd of 4,000 and no toilets

by Editorial Department

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Mr. Harold Crawford outside the public toilets in Lisbellaw which are to remain closed by Fermanagh District Council, during a flute band contest at the weekend.

A Lisbellaw band marshal is outraged over a decision by Fermanagh District Council to lock the town's public toilets despite huge crowds arriving for a flute band contest on Saturday. Mr. Harry Crawford understands the council will close the toilets at 7.00pm and not at the usual time of 11.00pm because of a recent vandalism act on the public amenity during the town's 12th July Celebrations. Lisbellaw Defenders of the Rock band is to hold its annual flute band competition on Saturday with up to 4,000 people expected to attend from all over Northern Ireland.

"This is a foolish decision taken by Fermanagh District Council" said Mr Crawford.

"We have huge numbers of young people coming to the town over the weekend for the Rock Flute Band contest and they told us that they will have to lock the toilets at 7.00pm. These facilities need to remain open as people will be coming from as faraway as Belfast on long bus journeys. Do they want people urinating in public places or queuing in pubs and shops? Although, I'm not surprised at this decision by the Council as they have done the people of Lisbellaw no favours in the past so we don't expect anything different," he said.

Head of Technical Services at Fermanagh District Council Gerry Knox said the Council can't risk a repeat of what happened the last time.

"A window was broken in the toilet and we don't want the same thing to happen again. We can't monitor every public toilet in the county and it's not that we aren't supporting community events, we just can't afford to run the risk of further vandalism attacks," he said.

Mr Knox did offer a solution and said if a community volunteer offers to monitor the toilet in the evening up to 11.00pm, then he would have no problem in keeping it open.

"If the community want it open then they have to work with us. I have no problem with our staff liaising with a member of the Lisbellaw community in holding the key and keeping an eye on the toilet until the time it has to close," he said.

Unhappy with this suggestion Mr Crawford said, "So the Council now expects us to do their job? All we are asking is to keep the toilet open it's as simple as that. If there was a St Patrick's Day event in Enniskillen or Rosslea would Mr Knox offer the same guarantee to their community?"

He said the town has been "seriously neglected" by Fermanagh District Council over the years and this latest debacle is "just the tip of the iceberg."

"Graffiti, dilapidated play parks, overgrown hedges, broken kerbs, broken street lights, there just some of things that urgently need repair. We took an audit of the area not so long ago and there were over 50 things that needed improved. You name it Lisbellaw hasn't got it and it seems that when we ask the Council to do something about it, they pass the buck onto Roads Service or another agency. Other villages have lovely hanging baskets and other aesthetics and we have nothing even though we pay our rates like everyone else. I drove through Kinawley there last week and they had a lovely big sign welcoming visitors, there is nothing to welcome anyone to Lisbellaw," he continued.

Mr Crawford believes if there were more recreational facilities in the town for young people 8-16 then vandalism incidents wouldn't happen.

"We have been waiting for a multi-service weather pitch for the village for years. Children especially young lads play football anywhere they can and this inevitably leads to broken windows. Or when they are bored they may resort to petty vandalism but if they had the necessary facilities like a proper pitch to play football then their free time would be put to better use."

Mr Knox refuted any claims Fermanagh District Council was cherry-picking Fermanagh towns or villages and invited residents of Lisbellaw to meet with him to discuss the matter further.

"We as a Council set out to take equal care of each town and village in Fermanagh and provide the best services that we can and we don't ignore the needs of the people of Lisbellaw. In fact, a full-time Orderly has recently been appointed to look after the village, who will take up their position next week and we have recently refurbished the play parks. After the Twelfth of July celebrations, we sent refuse collectors at first light to service the community and we look after each area using a multi-agency approach and are pro-active in doing so and I openly invite Mr Crawford to meet with me so he can discuss any other council services he has issue with in the area," he said.