Outdoor public meeting at Sutton's ‘dodgiest alley’ to discuss town's crime issues

Sutton Central and New Cross Councillor David Hennigan has organised the gathering at Garden Lane, on Thursday, over what he alleges are crime problems in that area.

The councillor is pushing for action to close the alley over what he claims is “ongoing criminal activity”, urging residents to report incidents.

Coun Hennigan said: “Residents lives are being made a misery by the constant drug dealing, drug taking and other criminal activities, a daily occurrence in this dodgy alleyway.

"In the past few weeks, reports have escalated, with needles and drug paraphernalia found. We are in the process of gathering enough evidence for what’s called an extinguishing order – a permanent closure of the alley.

"This meeting is hoped to encourage residents to report incidents. The police allocate resources based on crime statistics. I’ll be telling my neighbours not to leave it to others to report crimes.

“I’ve had an issue with crime and anti-social behaviour in the area for some time. The police, to be fair, do an excellent job – they just lack the resources to effectively deal with repeated incidents of crime as they are that stretched.

"This is an area populated by elderly residents who avoid the alleyway at all costs.

"Hopefully this meeting will be a step further to closing Sutton’s dodgiest alleyway once and for all.”

The meeting is outdoors due to concerns over coronavirus.

A member of Ashfield District Council’s Community Protection Team will attend the meet, which starts at 7pm.

Neighbourhood Policing Inspector for Ashfield Mark Dickson said: “Crime has fallen by a quarter in Ashfield during the last financial year, largely thanks to the proactive efforts of local teams, including neighbourhoods and Operation Reacher.

“As a neighbourhood team, we are committed to engaging with the community and understanding what is a priority for them. This allows us to tailor our policing so we tackle exactly what the community wants us to.

“We are aware of a number of issues and concerns around anti-social behaviour in and around the Garden Lane area. As Councillor Hennigan rightly says, our teams have been available and responded swiftly when this has been reported and the community should absolutely feel confident they can contact us.

"We are also regularly conducting a number of high visibility patrols in the area to offer reassurance alongside ongoing partnership work.

“We have very recently been made aware of this meeting and while we are unfortunately unable to attend this particular one, we will be discussing similar topics with partners on Friday in a meeting that has been arranged for some time, continuing our partnership work to best serve Ashfield.

“We would highly encourage anyone with concerns, or anyone with information, to speak to the local neighbourhood team.

Officers on patrol are there to provide reassurance and engage with the community, and we are also contactable through 101. We would also encourage people to continue telling us what they would like us to focus on when it comes to policing through the #WhatMatters survey.”

Local communities can have their say to help shape local policing through the #WhatMatters survey at: https://www.nottinghamshirealert.co.uk/5cdf83df-629b-4063-afe5-4c7e08c9ad70/QuickRegister"

Editor’s message: Support your Chad by becoming a digital subscriber. You will see 70 per cent fewer ads on stories, meaning faster load times and an overall enhanced user experience. Click here to subscribe.