Revealed: Vandalised Coalisland sign removed just weeks after being installed cost £4,000 to construct
6th June 2012 | By: Coalisland Post | Comments Off on Revealed: Vandalised Coalisland sign removed just weeks after being installed cost £4,000 to construct
A Coalisland sign that was removed within weeks of being erected after it was damaged by vandals cost almost £4,000 to create, it has emerged.
Young people from the Ógras Centre worked with a local architect and artist to design the Coalisland Canal sign, aiming to show the history of the waterway and the surrounding area.
But within weeks of the sign being erected along the canal, it was removed by council workers after being damaged and pushed over by vandals.
Figures uncovered by Coalisland Post show that the sign was constructed and installed at a cost of £3,999, paid for through funds aimed at promoting peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland.
Dungannon council says the sign will be re-installed along the canal upon repair, but more than half a year since the sign was removed, it has yet to reappear.
The Coalisland Canal sign was vandalised and removed within weeks of being installed
Coalisland Canal users have expressed surprise at the cost and the outcome of the ill-fated project.
One concerned Coalisland Canal user, who wished not to be named, said: “For the money that was spent on that area, there’s kind of nothing to show for it.
She added: “Children were involved in creating the sign, but it’s unfortunate the way it ended and it seems really bizarre that the sign is still removed for repair.”
The sign was initially erected in September last year, but was removed by council workers within two months after being torn down by vandals.
The sign was part of a larger clean-up project along the canal lock, which is understood to have cost in region of £15,000.
A total of 16 young people from Ógras Youth Centre had met on 12 occasions with a local architect and artist to create the Coalisland Canal sign.
The group decided to design a sign aimed at showing the history of the canal and the surrounding area.
The sign was part of a larger clean-up project along the canal lock, which is understood to have cost in region of £15,000.
Dungannon council told Coalisland Post the sign was damaged by vandals and removed by the council’s technical services department.
The sign was funded under Phase I of PEACE III – a programme part-funded by the European Union, aimed at promoting peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland.
Dungannon council said the sign was commissioned by Gwen Stephenson, of iCreate Solutions, at a cost of £3,999.
Ógras Youth Club’s Leo Quinn said: “We are really disappointed that after all the work the young people had done in preparing the whole concept, from identifying the area they wanted to benefit right the way through to the design of the sign, it is really demoralising for those young people who had shown leadership and had actually shown a sense of ownership of not only the present but in trying to remember the past.
He added: “The sign will be re-erected and we would appeal to all to show due respect to it.”
What do you think about this? Share your views by commenting below
Comments:
