Video shows NI council-owned pond choked with litter and weeds with wildlife struggling

Photos and video taken by local girl Shannon Freeburn show how ducks and other wildlife are forced to dodge the floating debris on a daily basis.

Shannon says she is disgusted at all the litter in the pond and annoyed also, that despite contacting Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Council about this issue a number of times over the past year, nothing appears to have been done.

The 22-year-old regularly walks her dog in the People’s Park.

“The amount of litter is terrible,” she said.

“I have reported twice to ABC Council about the condition of the People’s Park pond.

“It is always full of litter including alcohol bottles, cigarette boxes, plastic bottles, wrappers and the list goes on.

“I’m sure they have had multiple reports on this and they haven’t done anything about it.”

She added: “Recently I saw a duck in the water and it was heading for a pen which was floating in the pond and was going to eat it.

“I am very concerned about the wildlife.

“There is a river in the park and the weeds are so high in it, ducks have only a small amount of space to swim.”

“There seems to be no maintenance of the pond and the river is so bad it is ridiculous.

“It doesn’t look habitable for any creatures,” said Shannon, who is critical of the council.

She is also critical of those who carry out the littering.

“I don’t think there are very many fines handed out for littering.”

She encouraged locals to carry out litter picks and called on the council to be more proactive in looking after the park.

A spokesperson for ABC Council said; “The council are aware of the current instance of littering in the pond at People’s Park, Portadown.

“Unfortunately, the items in question are located in an area of the pond which cannot be retrieved by long reach litter pickers which are regularly employed to collect litter.

“During the summer period the pond develops a substantial growth of algae and duck weed which is a natural process and part of the thriving ecosystem of the pond. This growth restricts the movement of water which would normally push any littered items to the edge of the pond where it can be safely retrieved.

“At present the only way for these items to be collected is to launch a boat which must be manned by staff with the relevant training and correct PPE. The park management are currently liaising with the council’s watersports team to put in place measures to collect these items.

“The council would urge members of the public to please respect the park and dispose of their rubbish in the bins provided or take it home for recycling. Littering such as this not only looks unsightly but also has a negative and potentially dangerous impact on our natural wildlife.”

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