Balbriggan Area - Crime, Amenities & Community

LouOB

MOD NOTE: The following posts have been split off from the Parking at Balbriggan Railway station thread as a feel it would be a good discussion in it's own right (and so do some of ye given the amount of off-topic posts there )



I could rant away for hours on the level of crime, under resourced area and general community feeling (ie none) that this little town has.

Bring back Callaghan (dirty harry) type Garda- Id prefer a racist, sadistic, trigger happy mo fo on our streets on the strict arm of law any day.

LouOB

Oh thats just tip of iceberg suzy I have had massive trouble with one neighbour in area, shops overcharging in the town and amount of potholes is driving me mad. Had to buy two tires in past and found out due another two just before christmas, ie now.

Though I do love my first house - ahh the price you pay for housing is not just financial.
Stress

SuzyS1972

Hmm a certain Petrol station is a major rip off anyway.

I don't really shop in the town so I can't comment but I am the type of person who puts stuff back if it's over-priced.
I don't care what anyone thinks.

Gave a fella in a shop on O'connell Street back his 84 cent packet of KP Skips yesterday !

Bluetonic

SuzyS1972 wrote: »

Hmm a certain Petrol station is a major rip off anyway.

I don't know of any garages in the town who don't display their (fuel)prices on their forecourt? So kindly exactly to me how is a particular garage a rip off? You the consumer decide to pay the price, you are not forced. If your talking about prices inside the garage shop, once again your not forced to purchase anything without firstly knowing the price.

There is a reason that one garage in the town charges a few cent more for fuel than the others, I won't go into it but it's a long standing agreement with the other two garages in the town.

LouOB

LouOB wrote: »

shops overcharging in the town and amount of potholes

I meant that shop in the town would display one price and then charge diff at till. Yes i have gone back in the get 'refund' of difference. But the amount of times I have had to go back is silly now

SuzyS1972

I mean it's a rip off that say for example their fuel is 1.25 a litre ( not the exact figure ) and another station is only 1.19 - yes I am aware they display their prices and I have decided not to buy there because I can get petrol in Tesco for 1.12 .

Akin to buying a ham sandwich for 4.50 when you can get the exact same product next door for 3.50 - thats what I classify as a rip off.

I am only new to the town and HAD to get petrol there on my first day - this particular station is the closest to my house and not knowing there were 2 other stations in the town I paid what I considered to be over the odds.- I was on the fumes and had no choice - not like buying a loaf of bread ya know - it was do or walk to Blackrock

As I've said in my post I don't pay what I feel are over the odds - I would make a decision not to purchase if I feel a price is overstated.

Thanks for the heads up on the price fixing going on - is it some " local " secret.

Bluetonic

SuzyS1972 wrote: »

I am only new to the town and HAD to get petrol there on my first day - this particular station is the closest to my house and not knowing there were 2 other stations in the town I paid what I considered to be over the odds.- I was on the fumes and had no choice - not like buying a loaf of bread ya know - it was do or walk to Blackrock

Aside from your definition of ripped off differing to mine, it amazes me that someone would move into a town and either buy or rent without knowing what amenities exist. Are you really leading me to believe that you moved into a town without seeing what was on it's main street (3 garages)?

By the way the train would have brought you to Blackrock, the one one in South County Dublin that is, the Blackrock in Balbriggan you could have walked too

Welcome to the town

SuzyS1972

Bluetonic course I did - I have a fair idea whats on the main street and around etc - you know yourself you don't take in every shop and that when you view an area.
Actually reading that back I am fibbing I did know there was a Texaco but it being the far end of the town to me I wouldn;t have made it -
Is the 3rd petrol station quite a new one - I have seen this subsequently alright ..

Also I come in the 2nd exit off the Motorway so very rarely come thru the main street !


Thanks - I'm sure in time I'll get to know everything .

Bluetonic

SuzyS1972 wrote: »

Is the 3rd petrol station quite a new one - I have seen this subsequently alright

It's been there years, it was just rebuilt around 5 years ago, it's a bit of a tight squeeze around the forecourt.

LouOB

Blue you not being nice to newcomer in town. She needs support as details above have been shock to system. God if someone had let me on the workings of town before stuff happened to be id be delighted.Suz might not of had choice re move.
Also it is nice to let in on info re town ie dogy prices and garages and scum at train station.

Bluetonic

LouOB wrote: »

Blue you not being nice to newcomer in town.

In the words of the Virgin Mary, come again?

testicle

Bluetonic wrote: »

There is a reason that one garage in the town charges a few cent more for fuel than the others, I won't go into it but it's a long standing agreement with the other two garages in the town.

That is 100% illegal, and if you have information, bring it to the attention of the Competition Authority.

Bluetonic

testicle wrote: »

That is 100% illegal, and if you have information, bring it to the attention of the Competition Authority.

Competition Authority :rolleyes: I won't be contacting anyone, I hope this helps.

Chinafoot - good idea

wow sierra

I paid €1.74 a litre (yes I am not kidding!!!) for Petrol in Dublin city centre last week. Its a convenient location and 24 hours and like Suzy above I was on fumes so I didn't mind (too much:mad:). Needless to say I only got enough to get home. If I was annoyed at the time it was 100% with myself for not filling up on time and not at the legitimate business which is entitled to charge what it likes. I don't know how people can lose sleep over the price of petrol in Balbriggan - just go to the other one the next time Or if you are really enthusiastic the one up the road in Gormanstown is very cheap.

I hope there aren't too many people on here who don't realise there are sound business reasons why Tesco petrol is cheaper, and it has f**k all to do with not ripping off the customer - they aren't in the charity business:rolleyes:.

In general I find Balbriggan safer and cheaper than most areas in Dublin and as regards a Community spirit - I moved here knowing noone and barely knowing where Balbriggan was and I find it a great place to live. I know some other peoples experience isn't as positive but I can only speak for myself. What is happening at the train station sounds disgraceful - the guards/station management should be taking it seriously. My car has been broken into I think its four times since I moved here at this stage, the last time a few weeks ago, and it is really irritating but none of these breakins happened in Balbriggan.!! The little scumbags are everywhere.

aniascor

I have to agree that in general I have found Balbriggan to be very safe and a nice place to live. The estate I live in is quiet, my neighbours all seem nice, and we've never had any hassle there. We've got potted plants sitting outside our front door, and nothing ever happens to them. I couldn't imagine them lasting five minutes down at the station!

All of my problems with crime and the only place I've ever felt unsafe in the town was down at the train station. I'd have no problem walking home at nighttime around here, but wouldn't like to have to wait down at the station for the last train when it's dark. Too many kids hang out there. (Saying that makes me feel old...:()

I think that Balbriggan is letting its youngest generation down badly. We all know the fiasco with the schools. I know that not every child in the town is down vandalising bikes and cars at the train station in their spare time, but the fact is that there are quite a few hanging out there, and unless something is done to turn them away from this petty crime now, there will be one or two from each group who see the fact that there is no deterrent and no punishment from doing this, and it will ease them into "bigger and better" crimes later on in their lives.

LouOB

Totally agree aniascor. My own estate is quiet but along of cars in area have been broken into, vandalised and stolen. There have also been a good few burnt out cars in surrounding roads of estate.
There is a youth centre in the town, a cinema, train and bus to local shopping centres, a beach, tennis courts in Balrothery, lovely country back roads for walks and cycles. Come on - certain blame has to land on the parents who bring up children that find damaging others property is acceptable behaviour. Sure some of the parents prob think - sure I did it myself when I was young and it didnt do me any harm - wtf!!!!!

Boyfr coined a phrase I like - circle of flith

Moonbeam

Crime - There are so many kids and teenagers allowed run riot around the town and so many parents that don't seem to care,but there are also kids that really just have nothing to do and as a result end up hanging around street corners etc.
I have also noticed that it isn't just kids causing issues,I have seen adults lighting fires,drinking cans and being disruptive in public among other things.

Amenities - The town has a community centre,a few school,some supermarkets,pubs and a cinema and most importantly the train.

Community - I haven't noticed any great sense of community,despite making an effort to but I have found some people to be nice and friendly.

All in all compared to other places nearer to town with similar priced houses it really isn't a bad place to buy a house.

meditraitor

For all you newcomers welcome to Balbriggan I have lived in Balbriggan for 30 odd years now and have seen the massive changes of the 90s up to the present.
As for crime in Balbriggan, it has always been this way, it only increased with the population. The community (old balbriggan) was never very tight, areas were very insular(bath road, pinewood,fancourt, derham park, balrothery all had there own agenda) and with the exception of a couple the town council was/is made up of characters rather than usefull public servents ( popularity depending on which pub they frequented (often)) or now what boss you have,,,,

meditraitor

What you have to realise about balbriggan is that for a generation before the present community (new balbrigganersss, welcome again, great to see the gene pool expanded) came into existence Balbriggan was a small town, its only amenities were pubs and the drinking culture was instilled into us at an early age.
Balbriggan has a serious problem, there is nothing for the kids (this is no different to any commuter town created in the past 10/15 years), and a lot of parent have no choice but to work long hours to keep up with the jones; the youth always get ignored untill they cause trouble and then its thier fault????
Anyway as far as I can see the problems of Balbriggan are similiar to many towns and there is nothing anyone can do about it
Except bringing Lester back:D

clg23

Where is the cheapest petrol in and around the brig?

There has been an extra 20 or so Gardai stationed in balbriggan now so hopefully this may improve the Anti Social behaviour although I have to say I have seen very little around the town. The only time I have seen trouble is outside deli burger at 3am on a fri/sat and any break ins/criminal damage I have heard of seems to be the same family involved (I wont give their name but any locals will know who I am speaking about)

Bluetonic

clg23 wrote: »

Where is the cheapest petrol in and around the brig?

The Apple garages on the R132 at Gormo.

There is a new Apple garage being built at the M1 business park, zone C (currently under construction)

www.m1.ie/zones/

meditraitor wrote: »

its only amenities were pubs and the drinking culture was instilled into us at an early age.

I think you are forgetting at least about the numerous sports clubs, GAA, Football * 3, Tennis, Cricket etc..,

meditraitor

Bluetonic wrote: »

I think you are forgetting at least about the numerous sports clubs, GAA, Football * 3, Tennis, Cricket etc..,

The auld memory is not the best our lad, must be all the tennis,

Jokes aside, do you really think that joining a football team or playing tennis(god forbid) is going to prevent a teenager from drinking and general rowdy behaviour at the weekend.

"Yes" "yes" I know your point was I said that there are no amenities for the kids in Balbriggan, knowing you were lurking with your usual smart comment I should have expanded my view a bit more.

What about the kids who dont want to play football, Gealic and TENNIS. The skateboarders, graffitti art enthusiasts, swimmers etc etc etc. I know most young lads love a bit of football but when they get to 15-17yo these teams start getting a bit more serious, more training, only a certain amount can play in the team etc. were can teenagers go just to let of a bit of steam. no pressure?

meditraitor

A. the train station for the quick adrenalin buzz (wrong as it may be, were else does it come from, teenagers) of vandalism etc, cans on the stony beach, magic mushrooms and in some cases fighting on the street.

Some out of the box thinking is needed nowadays, not some old GAA esk attitude that an interest in a sport(football) is the way to keep the kids of today away from crime and general divelment.

Bluetonic

meditraitor wrote: »

knowing you were lurking with your usual smart comment I should have expanded my view a bit more.

Maybe you could expand that one a bit more.

LouOB

Please refer to previous comments , its not only the kids to blame

Parents take no responsibility for their children in the area who actively cause damage and upset in the community. Its tolerated that the minorty cause this damage and ill feeling because the parents are not held accountable.

Moonbeam

Personally I think it is up to us the people living there to try and make the difference and change things.
A lot easier said then done but with it is worth the effort.

LouOB

Garda laugh a you
Kids want to kick your head in, steal or smash up your car.
Their parents dont care.
If you have any ideas how to make a difference pls share?

Last time I knew viligantism is against the law

Fingleberries

For Graffitti artists, something I've seen in Germany was an area designated as a 'Free Wall'. An out of the way wall where these little 'artists' can scrawl or paint to their hearts content. Stricter penalties were enforced for graffitti in other non-permitted areas - generally forcing them to stick to these areas.

Actually some of the drawings they did were quite impressive, and steered away from the usual pre-pubescent scribblings. They seemed to respect it and would leave it for a while before covering it over with something else. After a while, the wall got repainted and they had another official blank canvas.

Some of the young people actually used their own paint to completely cover the old paintings before starting again (because the council were taking too long to come back out to repaint it!)

Somewhere like the underpass by St. Georges Church would be an example of the type of area that was designated.

meditraitor

Fingleberries wrote: »

Somewhere like the underpass by St. Georges Church would be an example of the type of area that was designated.

The knock wherathy did a few down there years ago, covered over with lovely tags now,,, Its a good idea and along the lines of stuff the disenfranchised youth (im sounding like an auld lad now) would get into..

wow sierra

The council have provided skate parks (for skateboarding) in Swords and Blanchardstown. I dont know if one is planned for Balbriggan but it would be a good idea. Plenty of good grafitti on the Swords one too;). Mind you I can just see the local concerned citizens queueing up to object to its location near their houses.

Don't dismiss activities like Tennis GAA etc. Many of the teenagers I know are too busy with soccer and GAA training to have time for much else. Hanging around the beach drinking cans is fairly normal teenage behaviour - but when it comes to smashing cars it is crossing a line. I think that is obvious and blaming a lack of amenities is no excuse.

cathy01

hi all, I love Balbriggan.It has its problems. My husband was in our car and myself and our two kids age 4 and 10 where walking towards the car, two , scumbags approched.One opend the car door passanger side and got in. My husband jumped out. One tried to punch him. My two little girls froze, I screamed for help. None came,two cars passed us. I just went mad. I screamed at them to FU** OFF. They did.
This by the way was 3.15 on a saturday afternoon.
I dont think they where from Balbriggan.
There are so many ,whats know as blow ins.:rolleyes:
Yes...I know I dont use that word , honest.
But as Moonbeam said.There is very little for the youth.Froigia have been trying to set up a youth group for Balbriggan.
Cryptic is no longer doing their evening stuff.
What else is there.
Can we blame parents, no. I think the Gaurda MUST take control of situations. If they know who is giving out drugs to kids, drag them in.Fine they are not the big dealers but every little helps.

I do think there is a good community in Balbriggan. Dispite everything. I wouldnt move. No schools, no youth clubs, no swimiming pool. You should have seen this place 15 years ago. No...nothing. bearly even poeple.
Anyway on another note. Did you see the new €2.00 shop. Well, be warned thats just the name of the shop. The goods in it vary up to €30.00.
cathy