Questions on Notice
A period of up to 15 minutes is allocated for the asking and answering of questions. This may be extended at the discretion of the Chairman with the agreement of the majority of those present.
To deal with any questions on notice from Members of the Council, in the order in which they have been received.
Minutes:
Question submitted by Councillor M. Thompson
“The cuts to the police imposed by the Conservative government have been felt acutely throughout the country. The crime on estates in my ward, Rock Hill, has been well publicised. Fly-tipping, burglary, drug abuse, drug dealing and prostitution have all been reported over the past year. Indeed, the local papers recently reported the arrest of a man wielding a hammer smashing a resident's door in. I raised awareness of such crimes over a year ago, which were subsequently referred to Safer Bromsgrove. The only outcome of a report by Safer Bromsgrove resulted in a hedge being trimmed by one foot. Does the leader agree with me that such action is an insult to those suffering such crimes and, does he agree with me, that, with such a response, Safer Bromsgrove is not addressing real crime issues in Bromsgrove?”
The Leader responded that Safer Bromsgrove was a sub-group of the statutory Community Safety Partnership and Bromsgrove District Council was a responsible authority member. The Council had a duty to work with other partners to reduce crime, disorder and all associated issues to improve community safety for local residents. Safer Bromsgrove facilitated the local delivery of this partnership duty, bringing together all responsible authority agencies, groups and partners to look at community safety issues in the district.
Safer Bromsgrove received a referral to look at crime and community safety issues in the Rock Hill area following Councillor Thompson’s original request for CCTV in the Ward. Safer Bromsgrove’s Community Safety assessment focused on the areas specified by Councillor Thompson, namely Rock Hill main road, the alleyway through to Morris Walk opposite the Greyhound pub and the alleyway through to Austin Road lock-up garages.
Crime and anti-social behaviour data analysis and face-to-face consultation with residents was carried out at these locations to identify any community safety issues that partners could resolve. As a result of the Community Safety assessment of the area the following actions had been taken by Safer Bromsgrove partners.
· In consultation with residents, the hedge opposite Albert Road bordering the highway from Housman Close was trimmed by BDHT to increase natural surveillance of this alleyway. Residents stated that they wanted the hedge to remain as it provided a noise and sight barrier from the traffic on the highway. Following engagement with a particular resident whose property adjoined the alleyway to Morris Walk, the hedge at this point was reduced by 18 inches by BDHT along a distance corresponding with the frontage of the resident’s property. The resident supervised this reduction so that it met his requirements as a screen whilst allowing BDHT to open up the area to natural surveillance.
· The same resident, in collaboration with his neighbour on the other side of the alleyway, removed or trimmed vegetation from their respective gardens to again open up surveillance of the alleyway. This included cutting down a large tree and hedgerow which had substantially improved lighting and natural surveillance.
· In relation to this alleyway and the ... view the full minutes text for item 54