Bolton Council is to repeat an initiative to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour in the borough.
The Environmental Crime Initiative is being delivered with Bolton at Home and ward councillors have again submitted suggestions for projects in their areas. All suggested schemes have been prioritised using crime and disorder data.
Among the projects which are to be delivered this financial year are planter removals in Pennington Road, Great Lever, improved street lighting in the Astley Street area in Crompton and alley gating on and around Garstang Avenue in Breightmet.
The initiative will be funded by £100,000 made available in this year’s budget and a further £85,000 was made available from alley gating funding and an area grant.
An additional £50,000 is available in the overall Council budget to fund street lighting improvements to help deter crime.
In 2007/08 a total of 32 projects were prioritised from ward members’ suggestions including installing alley gates, removal of planters which can encourage youths to congregate, improving street lighting and resurfacing back streets. Resident Trudi Pilkington from Horwich is one of those who have benefited from alley gating at the rear of Lee Lane where there had been problems with underage drinking, drug abuse and antisocial behaviour.
She said: “It really has made a huge difference to everything and now we can look forward to the weekends instead of dreading them. It’s very hard to take pride in where you live and continue to clean up rubbish when you know that the next day it will all be back again. Now the gates have been installed it is much more secure and we can try to improve our environment knowing that it won’t be a waste of time.”
Resident Barry Jubb of Makinson Fold, Horwich said: “The alley gates have resolved the problems we had been experiencing with anti-social behaviour which is the main concern for residents. We no longer experience gangs walking through the estate and there is no longer litter and drug taking equipment being dumped in the alley. If it was possible to say life is 3000 per cent better, then that is the extent of difference it has made to our lives.”
And residents in Hilden Street in the Haulgh have seen a noticeable reduction in problems associated with crime and anti-social behaviour since gates were installed in the back streets.
Karamat Hussein, a resident of Hilden Street East and founding member of the Haulgh Community Partnership, said the gates had made a huge difference to both himself and his neighbours.
He said: “Before the alley gates were put in place we had problems with drugs and prostitution in the area and were unable to prevent people dumping their rubbish at the back of our homes. Now we don’t have to be constantly watching the back street which gives us more freedom to get on with our lives. We feel much safer and happier.”
Bolton Council’s Member for Cleaner, Greener, Safer Councillor Elaine Sherrington and Councillor Nick Peel, the Executive Member for Environmental Services, both approved the Environmental Crime Initiative.
In a joint statement they said: “We know that crime and anti-social behaviour top the list of residents’ concerns so by asking each ward member to put forward schemes it means we’re hopefully going to be able to continue to provide positive solutions to alleviate specific issues in local communities.
“But we’d also like to stress that once alley gates are installed residents have just as much responsibility for ensuring the gated areas are free from litter and fly-tipping and environmental enforcement will continue to apply.”
All alley gating proposals will be subject to consultation with residents.
