Minutes:
Councillor Jagjit Singh attended the meeting and spoke as a Ward Councillor. He stated that he had liaised with the police and residents about the issues raised in the petition and the associated concerns of the residents.
Concerns and suggestions raised by petitioners included the following:
Councillor Douglas Mills listened to the concerns of petitioners and responded to the points raised. Although the fly tipping and littering was taking place in the green space and wooded area adjacent to the bypass as well as in the alleyway, the Cabinet Member was advised that the alleyway was well used by residents (and well lit) so it would be detrimental to have it gated off as a deterrent. It was suggested that the Council look to periodically clear the area of rubbish to deter further fly tipping.
The Cabinet Member agreed that the installation of a street light would act as a deterrent to much of the anti social behaviour being experienced by residents. Although he asked officers to allocate the funding and make the arrangements required for the installation of a lamp column, he advised residents that this would not be something that would be completed overnight.
It was noted that there was significant demand for the temporary CCTV around the Borough. Although Councillor Mills asked that officers include Minterne Waye on the priority list for CCTV, he advised residents that the timescales for the installation and duration would be subject to the urgency of need elsewhere. Once the CCTV had been installed, residents would need to contact the Anti Social Behaviour and Investigations Team to report the time and day of any issues of concern so that the recordings could be checked for evidence. It was anticipated that the Council and residents working together in this way would result in the greatest benefit to the area.
Councillor Mills asked that officers liaise with the local Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) to ensure that they were aware of the residents' justifiable concerns. Residents were asked to ensure that they notified the local SNT of any offences that were committed and that this information be reported back to the Cabinet Member in the next couple of months. The SNT would also be asked, where possible, to include the area on its patrols during the most affected times.
RESOLVED: That, having met with the Petitioners, the Cabinet Member:
1. noted the views and concerns of the petitioners;
2. asked officers to make arrangements for a lamp column to be installed in the road opposite 68A Minterne Waye, Hayes to illuminate this area to make it less attractive for cars to congregate there;
3. asked officers to include Minterne Waye on the priority list for the installation of temporary CCTV to detect or deter crime and disorderly behaviour; and
4. asked officers to liaise with the SNT and report back to the Cabinet Member in due course.
Reasons for recommendation
The Council has a number of mobile CCTV cameras that can be deployed for up to 12 weeks at a time in response to residents' concerns about crime and disorder. Not only can these cameras collect evidence to support the police and/or the local authority to carry out enforcement and prosecution work, they can provide useful information about levels of crime in an area if any future applications are made for permanent CCTV or other crime prevention measures.
Providing street lighting would deter non residents from congregating at this location. There is a similar road layout further along Minterne Waye which benefits from lamp columns; however, there is currently no provision for this within the Street Lighting budget.
Alternative options considered
The possibility of fixed permanent CCTV has been considered, but the costs are considerable and, when installing CCTV, the Council has to consider necessity, proportionality and the likelihood of intrusion into the privacy of people not connected with the disorderly behaviour.
The deployment of temporary CCTV would enable an assessment to be made as to whether the problem is a temporary one, capable of resolution, which would avoid some of the problems associated with a permanent installation.
Supporting documents: