Motorists and youngsters the focus of complaints
Thursday, 8th July 2010.
Various forms of anti-social behaviour by youngsters or motorists took up most of the attention of Haverhill police's Safer Neighbourhood Team meeting today, and two issues were taken up as new priorities.
Members heard the Newt Pond area near the Parkway estate had been bedevilled with vandalism, which was spoiling the area.
Lottery funding turned the Newt Pond area into an attractive amenity a few years ago, but since then it had been targeted by vandals.
What had once looked nice was now heavily vandalised with spray paint over signs, rubbish taken out of bins and thrown in the pond and even a bench being thrown in with it.
The culprits were mostly children aged around ten to 12, members were told.
Damien Parker of St Edmundsbury Council parks department reported they had removed the bench, but members agreed it would be better to stop it happening than just to clear up after it all the time.
The team's second priority was centred around Chalkstone Community Centre, where the meeting took place, and nearby Ickleton Place.
Here residents had complained of anti-social behaviour by young people in Strasbourg Square and Ickleton Place, kids running on the roof of the community centre and gathering in open araes nearby.
Police had delivered questionnaires to residents in the area for them to describe any recent nuisance activities, and they urged members of the public to call them when they saw anything, because even if they could not attend, every call was logged and helped build up a weight of evidence that a problem existed.
The meeting also heard complaints about motorists parking in disabled spaces and pedestrian areas, and verbally abusing anyone who asked them to move.
This had happened in the piazza area outside the Leisure Centre, and, most recently, the walkweay from Queen Street to Tesco, which one person said had nine cars parked on it on one occasion.
Haverhill town centre manager Tina Hanks said action would have to wait for new traffic regulations which were going through a public consultation process.
When the correct notices were in place, police could take action. She also volunteered to ask Suffolk County Council highways department to look into any engineering works which might help to stop the problem.
Members heard the Newt Pond area near the Parkway estate had been bedevilled with vandalism, which was spoiling the area.
Lottery funding turned the Newt Pond area into an attractive amenity a few years ago, but since then it had been targeted by vandals.
What had once looked nice was now heavily vandalised with spray paint over signs, rubbish taken out of bins and thrown in the pond and even a bench being thrown in with it.
The culprits were mostly children aged around ten to 12, members were told.
Damien Parker of St Edmundsbury Council parks department reported they had removed the bench, but members agreed it would be better to stop it happening than just to clear up after it all the time.
The team's second priority was centred around Chalkstone Community Centre, where the meeting took place, and nearby Ickleton Place.
Here residents had complained of anti-social behaviour by young people in Strasbourg Square and Ickleton Place, kids running on the roof of the community centre and gathering in open araes nearby.
Police had delivered questionnaires to residents in the area for them to describe any recent nuisance activities, and they urged members of the public to call them when they saw anything, because even if they could not attend, every call was logged and helped build up a weight of evidence that a problem existed.
The meeting also heard complaints about motorists parking in disabled spaces and pedestrian areas, and verbally abusing anyone who asked them to move.
This had happened in the piazza area outside the Leisure Centre, and, most recently, the walkweay from Queen Street to Tesco, which one person said had nine cars parked on it on one occasion.
Haverhill town centre manager Tina Hanks said action would have to wait for new traffic regulations which were going through a public consultation process.
When the correct notices were in place, police could take action. She also volunteered to ask Suffolk County Council highways department to look into any engineering works which might help to stop the problem.
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