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6 swindonlink.com • June 2011
selling or renting Drug busts and car tax clampdown
highlight of West week of action
your property? Agencies were With a tip-off
out in force across from a parent,
call today for an epC West Swindon in the Neighbour-
mid-May to tack-
hood Police Teams
le problems and seized a huge
speCial summer offer advise residents cache of beer and
WAS NOW on how they can spirits from 150
make the area sixteen year olds
no safer. from outside the
£44 £39VAT A car trans- area who were
porter had to be gathering in Lyd-
Offer ends 31st August 2011 brought in to take iard Park for a
away 8 vehicles party.
Call HEA Services on 07919 447 100 found without tax D u r i n g t h e
discs or a DVLA PC Tom Turner with cannabis plants week staff from
off road notice. in a Freshbrook flat having arrested the Safer Swin-
The police car- the grower in a dawn raid don Partnership
HEA_Ad_64x93_3b.indd 1 13/05/2011 15:20 toured shopping
ried out three
drugs warrants, two in Fresh- areas advising people on safety
brook and one in Eastleaze, and issues, including locking up sheds,
two drivers were caught speeding garages and cars. The week ended
in Toothill. with a bike stamping session.
Police put pressure on bad behaviour
and reset priorities for the West
The West Swindon Forum on 9 May heard from PCs Tom Turner and
Steven Yates that, since the last meeting, the Neighbourhood Police
Teams in the area had succeeded in having seven people evicted from
their council homes for causing extreme nuisance.
In particular two families in feed information to the Neighbour-
Freshbrook, who were responsible hood Police Team, however small,
for about fifty per cent of complaints as it could be a piece of the jigsaw
for anti-social behaviour, were re- needed in a wider investigation.
housed in other locations. PC Yates Contact the team on 0845 408 7000
said the action was taken in conjunc- Ridgeway Farm plan unclear
tion with council housing officers
and acknowledged that eviction A planning application for 800
moved the problem onto other areas. houses by Taylor Wimpey has yet
“It does mean that more restrictive to come before Wiltshire Council’s
conditions can be imposed on ten- planning committee, but Forum
ancy agreements and moving people chair coun Nick Martin said that
also means anti-social networks are Swindon is working hard to con-
broken up.” vince Wiltshire that no further
He asked residents to be on the houses are required to satisfy the
look out for a huge 11 stone bull town’s future housing need.
mastiff in Grange Park which is Forward planning officer Phil
required to be under the owner’s Smith confirmed that the council’s
control at all times. Core Strategy plan clearly sets out
The forum agreed with proposals strategic development sites within
by the police to refocus priority work the borough boundaries. He said,
for the summer on: “whilst Wiltshire prepares its own
1. anti-social behaviour in parks and Core Strategy for future develop-
open spaces; ment, it has fallen back on the
2. catching criminals stealing from Wiltshire & Swindon Structure
unsecured cars, homes and sheds, Plan agreed in 2006 which identi-
and raising awareness to lock up fies 1,000 houses to be built to the
belongings; west of Swindon. It is this plan on
3. targetting drug dealing hot spots, which the developers are basing
particularly the Worsley Road area of their argument to build, whilst the
Freshbrook where drugs are bought Swindon Core Strategy sets out
and sold in the church car park. evidence that the west of Swindon
Paul Shephard from Grange Park proposal is no longer valid.”
appealed for greater attention to a Coun Peter Greenhalgh said that
pedestrian entrance to Lydiard Park if Wiltshire agreed Ridgeway Farm,
close to Hampton Drive and Cabot Swindon would be asking MPs on
Drive. He said an informal footpath both sides of the border and the
was now a major through-route and Minister for Environment to call the
the loose stones provided ammuni- plan in for a public enquiry.
tion for people intent on damaging Minutes of the West Swindon
nearby houses. Forum are posted at http://bit.ly/
PC Turner asked all residents to swindonconnect
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