Ards and North Down Councillor Cooper has spoken out against the ongoing problem of anti-social behaviour in Comber and Ballygowan.
“Over the past few months, I have became aware of a growing number of incidents involving young crowds congregating around play parks and engaging in underage drinking, accompanied by loud music.
“Unfortunately, this has a knock on effect to many elderly residents in the nearby areas and I am inundated with calls from worried families pleading for some respite.
“It is my intention to address this issue by engaging with the local youth and trying to provide alternative options for them on a weekend to occupy them.
“In Ballygowan, we have invited the youths of the village to the upcoming public meeting on Monday the 12th October to speak with us in an attempt to get to grips with this problem in the hope we can find general consensus on a way forward.
“I aim to try the same approach in Comber and encourage those who feel disaffected in our society to become involved in the community and participate in programmes and activities I will be offering in the months to come through the evolving resource centre.
“I will be meeting with the PSNI on Wednesday to discuss these matters further and hope this can be dealt with through a mutually beneficial solution for all those involved.
“It is imperative the younger generation have a choice of activities to harness their potential and I sincerely hope that many will engage and become involved in building our towns and villages into areas to be proud of.”