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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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