 |
| Police are still looking for this motorcycle at speed on the Greenwheel at Park Farm |
As part of our remit to look out for the residents of Park Farm and Stanground, your PFNW chair and committee attended the South East Neighbourhood Panel Meeting held on October 5th at Hampton Police Station.
The meeting is open to the public and the panel usefully represents local and regional agencies, PCC and the usually faceless council officials who have ventured out from behind their roll-top desks to face the residents.
We also had a few well meaning jokers, including a gentlemen called Bernard who briefly stood for the vacant chair (Chris Harper having resigned as he has now been adopted as the Conservative Party Candidate for the next round of council elections). Bernard stressed that he was a businessman (selling padlocks to the police was one of his business marketing ploys – Good man!) and volunteered the information that he had just financed and set up the Common Sense Political Party. Clearly, the spirit of the late lamented Screaming Lord Sutch lives on, such is democracy!
Christopher York (who stood as a Labour parliamentary candidate in the recent General Election, but failed to win a seat) by a unanimous vote, was elected chair and immediately cracked the whip to get the Agenda moving.
Cllr. Brian Rush, Janet Goodman and Lisa Emmanuel, all took their places meanwhile Kevin Morris – a nicely scrubbed up Special Constable - reported the ‘Specials’ managed to put in a staggering amount of voluntary patrol time, some 91 hours in the last week of September alone. Bringing up the rear for the agencies, was Roy Clarke, resplendent in PCC green NATO pattern jumper and size fourteen Doc Martins.
It would have helped if the top table had identifiable name plates, agency staff wearing their name badges and for part of the meeting, presentations were no more than a low verbal rumble, (for the few who had hearing difficulties virtually impossible to hear). Hopefully Inspector Snow (now sans beard and sporting a close shaven head) took all this on board and will have a microphone, PA system and a roving wireless mic for the audience questions next time.
It would also have been good to have the Police ‘Corporate Marketing Unit’ prepare a simple PowerPoint presentation, to visually present the mind spinning complex roll call of statistics, which in any case were contained in the latest October edition of the newsletter, now presented under the snappy title of ‘On your Beat’.
I of course misread it as ‘On yer Bike’ but either title gets over the urgency of the task in hand and the publication has double the number of pages in the A5 format with a corresponding increase in detailed information and comment. It is also available online at www.cambs.police.uk .
We have a brand new Chief Constable and Inspector Snow said that despite the looming cuts in funding and manpower, the new Chief was in favour of community initiatives and hopefully the ‘on beat’ presence would not feel the cuts too much.
I noted the well appointed Hampton Police Station meeting room had a video projector so perhaps the chief constable could in future tape a short digivideo presentation or a few words of wisdom? The next meeting will be on 11th January 2011 at the Baptish Chapel Hall, Chapel St. Stanground.
At the meeting, clearly Fletton generally and Fellowes Gardens in particular was punching above its weight with a disproportionately heavy payload of crime and mind sapping anti-social behaviour. Police had on suggestion of the neighbourhood panel made this a priority action, targeted the area and generally introduced a zero tolerance policy for anti-social behaviour and a host of other nuisances.
Youths and children had been identified, a few parents contacted and in some cases in conjunction with the PCC parental contracts issued. There were also a significant number of adults variously cautioned, charged and processed during the period, graphically demonstrating that the community zero tolerance approach does work.
Alarmingly during the period under review, police also came in for some unreasonable stick and abuse by residents and adverse media comment when one of the agreed actions was to clamp down on inconsiderate and illegal parking, many tickets issued, cars towed.
The acid test apparently is “can a double baby buggy freely pass on the pavement when a car is parked on the verge/pavement or the vehicle so parked forces a pedestrian at any point to step onto the road.”
Priorities set for Police by the panel
for the next three months
- ASB (Anti Social Behaviour) - Fair Meadow Car Park - this will including car cruise meetings & suspected drug taking / dealing on the Railworld site and on cycle paths by the river.
- ASB (Anti Social Behaviour) - Earls Close.
- Parking Concerns - Hampton.
PS 1916 Coulson
NPT Sergeant
Peterborough South East
0345 456 456 4 ext 7112211
Contrary to popular thinking that parking regulations do not apply to unadopted roads, two parish councillors from Hampton, waved a hefty document in the air, produced by Kent Police (and already lodged with the Peterborough Neighbourhood policing team) which stated that all Highway Code / RT rules apply and should be enforced by Police.
Eagle Way, Hampton was singled out as a continuing problem, as your own committee experienced when trying to leave the meeting at Hampton Police Station, not helped by a Tesco home delivery van at 9 pm and unable to pass a crocodile of inconsiderately parked cars.
Indeed the whole return journey within the confines of Hampton was a nightmare, strictly single file traffic. Clearly town planners made a huge mistake, they need to urgently widen the roads, cut back on the architectural planting, ultra wide pavements and splash a few double yellow lines around! Roads in Park Farm are generally much wider, so residual house values on our patch, should be better off for it, as opposed to moving to Hampton!
The focus on illegal obstructive on-road and pavement/verge parking will soon shift to Park Farm/Heritage Park and Stanground with particular attention to any vehicles obstructing the footpath and parked within 10 metres (32 feet) of, or opposite any junction or crossroads. This will be particularly relevant on the lower dogleg section of Kedleston Road where emergency services and utility vehicles are routinely unable to negotiate round residents’ cars, commercial vans and trucks parked on the road, rather than on their own off road driveways and parking places. The other practical test used by police is to ask the fire brigade to drive their appliances around and if they find an obstruction caused by a vehicle its an automatic penalty and possibly a day in Court.
Needless to say if the Emergency vehicle is unable to get through the consequences could well be fatal for someone....
Finally a word from Inspector Matt Snow:
“Anti-social behaviour often increases towards the end of October as Halloween and Guy Fawkes (Bonfire) Night approaches. I have already arranged additional police patrols in all hotspot areas. My officers will take positive action against individuals who use this time as an excuse for anti-social behaviour. They will be proportionate at the same time. I recognise the vast majority of people will be having fun and causing no issues. If you would like a ‘NO Trick or Treat’ poster for your home it can be downloaded from www.cambs.police.uk or call in person at any police station.”
(C) Park Farm Neighbourhood Watch Peterborough UK Tel: 01733 345581
Broadcasters direct call ISDN 'down the line' 01733 555319 Codecs G722 & APT
Press Enquiries 01733 345581
No comments:
Post a Comment
Many thanks your contribution is appreciated