This article is from page 6 of the 2008-05-13 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
last week com- plaining that anti-social behaviour, and joyriding in particular, is forcing the early closure of Dromore Woods and Nature Reserve.
These claims have been refuted by a local NPWS spokeswoman, who did reveal that a number of cars have been broken into at the woods in re- cent times and that it had been used as a “racetrack” for joyriders in the past.
‘There has been some cars broken into out in the park but that is not the
reason that it is being closed at 7pm. The gates are closed at 7pm because they close the gates in Coole Park at 7pm. The decision was made so as to make the two parks uniform,” said Emma Glandville of the NPWS.
‘In the summer we close the gates at 7pm and in the winter we close them at 5pm. That’s the way it’s al- ways been.
“There are two people who’s job it is to take down those barriers and it would not be fair on them to have them going out later in the evening.
“There was a problem with joyrid- ing in the past but we put ramps in and that put paid to that. We have had young people going in and using it as a racetrack.”
Ms Glandville also confirmed that decisions on the opening hours of Dromore Park was not taken locally.
However, a national spokesman for
the NPWS declined to comment on the matter and also refused to con- firm that the NPWS had any role to play regarding the administration of Dromore Woods.
This is not the first time that the issue of antisocial behaviour have emerged in relation to Dromore Woods.
The matter was previously raised in a Dail debate by current Minister for State at the Department of Agricul- ture, Trevor Sargent (GP).
Responding to these allegations, the then Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, former Clare TD Sile de Valera, confirmed that the woods had suffered “continuous and unac- ceptable incidences of vandalism’.
She also confirmed that, at that time, the woods stayed open until 9.30pm in the summer and 7.30pm in the winter.