Residents of Sunny Ridge recently brought to light the disgrace of the Sodium Street park.
“It is disgusting what is happening with the park. Our society and children are being exposed to criminal activities and outrageous behaviour that are taking place right in front of us!” exclaimed an upset resident, known only as Stanley.
He said residents feared for their safety, as well as the safety of their children, as youngsters were allegedly abusing drugs and consumed alcohol. Apparently other inappropriate activities were also the order of the day.
Residents also fear for their lives as burglaries have increased over the last few months, necessitating expenditure of thousands of Rand on security improvements.
“This is not fair on us. We are constantly looking over the shoulder because we are afraid of these criminals who lurk in the park and observe our houses,” said Stanley.
He said he was one of the unfortunate who got home one day, only to find his house burgled, and items such as his laptops and DVD players were stolen.
“The intruders gained entry to my house by damaging the glass sliding door. They must have been watching my house because I was not even gone for a half an hour,” he said.
Stanley added the park had become a drinking zone, where people had parties till the early morning hours, leaving residents with very little sleep and high frustration levels.
“We cannot sleep at night as there is constantly loud music coming from the vehicles parked on the grounds. They party there, whether it is weekend or a week night.”
He was also saddened that children couldn’t use the park, as there were broken glass bottles everywhere.
“We have appealed to the police and municipality numerous times before, but nothing has changed here. We need this park to be fenced off, and maybe have guards looking after it after hours like the other parks have.”
“We are a community with young children and the park is their main source of entertainment, which they are being deprived of at this moment by selfish people. If the municipality can just fence off the place at least, we can rest at night and not be so afraid,” he concluded
Ward Councillor, Bebsie Cronje, said she was aware of concerns regarding the park and thought it was dangerous for children to play there. She said she had reported it to the municipality several times, asking for the park to be fenced off.
“Every time I contact them and explain the problems experienced there, they just tell me there is nothing they can do as there is not a budget set in place for that park. The only advice I have for residents at the moment is that they report alarming behaviour to the police as it occurs,” she said.
The Newcastle Sun contacted the municipality communications department regarding the conditions at the park, but no information was forthcoming at the time of going to print.
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