UPDATE FROM FACEBOOK CHAT ON TUESDAY 2ND DECEMBER 2014
ISSUES RAISED AND ACTION TAKEN
Many of the issues raised are ongoing and will continue to be acted upon. Any
problems we have been unable to address will be carried forward.
The next Facebook Chat will be on TUESDAY 13th JANUARY between 6.30PM8PM. This is your chance to speak to Insp Williams and your local Councillors ‘live’
about any local policing issues.
Market Hall
Can something be done about youths hanging in and around the market
shouting and swearing, playing football, skateboarding and generally
intimidating customers?
Insp Williams - Attention is paid around the Cathedral and market where youths
gather, the majority of whom are just socialising. The message to police the areas
more robustly and deal with the issues highlighted has been reinforced with my
officers.
Cathedral Retail Park
Can we get a CCTV camera facing the retail park to try and stop the vehicles
racing around putting people in danger of injury? They are also putting
families off from visiting the facilities and spending their income in Wakefield.
Insp Williams - The Police have done a lot of work with partners to solve this issue.
It is a nuisance and it can be dangerous too. We do use CCTV as well as mounting
regular operations. We are currently looking at the new Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB)
legislation to see if we can extend the Alcohol Exclusion Zone to cover this area and
others where we get ASB. The new legislation covers a variety of sins. Due to the
budget constraints facing us all there are unlikely to be any new cameras installed.
That is not to say we do not use mobile cameras as and when they are needed.
Eastmoor Road
Eastmoor Road has been resurfaced but when will the road markings be put
back on the road? Cars are speeding on the road and don’t seem to care that
it’s residential and has a school on it. Could some speed limit/reduce your
speed signs be introduced or could the speed bumps be built up?
Cllr Lund - We will contact the Highways Department and publicise when the road
markings are going to be done.
Insp Williams - The speed bumps will be built up now the resurfacing has been
completed. Speeding and parking are both issues we take seriously, especially
around schools. We have ongoing parking operations outside schools mornings and
evenings.
Bonfire Night/Events at Thornes Park
Fantastic bonfire night at Thornes Park but the people who live at Thornes
Moor Close, Drive, Road, etc are being put at risk by cars parked everywhere.
A lot of the people who live there are retired elderly. Residents can’t drive in
or out of their homes and there would be no access for emergency services.
The grass verges were destroyed and there was litter everywhere.
Wakefield Council – This feedback has been passed onto our Events Team who will
incorporate it into their planning for any future large events.
Ledger Lane
What can be done about cars blocking people’s drives near the school and
abuse from drivers?
Insp Williams – We have ongoing parking operations outside different schools
morning and evening. I have passed this information onto PS Prince who is the Sgt
for that area. He can direct staff to the school and look into your concerns. We have
to be realistic about how many schools we can police with the resources we have.
This is why we currently have a zero tolerance operation to hit the worst areas.
Union St and The Springs
What about the cars that take a short cut through Union St and down The
Springs.
Insp Williams – We are aware of this issue and 9 fixed penalty tickets were issued
there today. We will continue to enforce this when we can.
Bradford Road
What about the cars parked on Bradford Road outside the Council Depot, it
reduces the traffic down to one lane? I thought you couldn’t park in a cycle
lane.
Insp Williams – The cycle lanes there are dashed and for guidance only. If they
were a solid white line they would be enforceable.
Woodhouse Road, Eastmoor
Cars parking on Woodhouse Road, Eastmoor are blocking access to our
homes. They are parking there all day to avoid paying for parking in town.
They are also parking on the grass. I have contacted the Police and Council
and asked for Permits but nothing has been done yet.
Wakefield Council - There are no parking restrictions on Woodhouse Road and as
such commuters parking there are probably not committing any offence. Due to the
proposed change of parking enforcement from the police to the council in October
this year no further parking restrictions will be introduced until 2016 at the earliest
other than those where the legalities are already almost complete. There are over
200 outstanding requests for parking restrictions and the like and the council can
only resource a positive response to around 10% of these per annum.
Queen’s Drive
The traffic lights at the top of Queen’s Drive are dangerous as they are out of
sync.
Wakefield Council – We will ensure this is investigated by our Highways Department.
Broadway
The bin that was attached to the bus stop on Broadway was blown up, can it
be replaced? Can we also have a dog poo bin installed?
Cllr Isherwood – This information will be passed onto our Street Scene Team with a
view to replacing the bin and installing a dog poo bin.
King Street
At the bottom of King Street a “No Motor Vehicles” sign states “Except for
Loading Access Permitted to Marygate”. The exception seems to contradict
the sign. Can you clarify?
Wakefield Council – No motor vehicles are allowed unless they are accessing the
shops for loading/unloading purposes.
Barnsley Road
Why is Barnsley Road being cleaned again tonight when you are cutting
services left, right and centre? Signs telling motorists not to park there are
only placed at one side of the road and always on the same stretch.
Wakefield Council – We have problems cleaning this stretch of highway as this is
where bus station staff park. Signs are erected every 4 weeks instructing motorists
not to park there the next day so it can be cleansed. Both sides of the road are done
– the other side doesn’t need a sign as we don’t have the same parking problems.
Sometimes the signage works, sometimes not, which means we have to cleanse
round parked cars.
St Catherine Street and Trinity Street
Our Street Cleaners do a great job but is there anything that can be done to
encourage residents to look after where they live so Council funds don’t have
to be wasted in such a way?
Wakefield Council – We would be happy to work with local residents to plan a
Community ‘Love Where You Live’ event to help keep the area clean. To find out
more about this please email areaworking@wakefield.gov.uk
Eastmoor
I am a Community Psychiatric Nurse (CPN) and many places on Eastmoor are
now permit holders only for parking. CPN’s have to park to visit their patients
but understandably do not want a parking ticket. Any suggestions?
Wakefield Council - It is correct that a resident needs to apply for a visitor permit.
Only one is currently allowed per property and each applicant has to prove residency
by way of a copy of utility bill, bank statement, tenancy agreement etc. This is to
ensure permits are only issued to the correct people and the finite amount of parking
space is protected for genuine residents and their visitors. A resident permit is tied to
a specific resident vehicle but a visitor permit can be used by any visitor in any
vehicle.
We would ask health professionals to encourage and help customers to complete
the form permit application form. If they have any difficulties the Council’s parking
services team would be happy to help.
Cambridge Street and West Street
The refuse collectors empty the bins but any litter they drop they don’t pick
up. They also abandon the bins on the pavement leaving it virtually
impossible to walk safely on the pavement with prams and children.
Wakefield Council – We will pass your comments onto the Street Scene team and
ask them to pay particular attention to this area.
Child Sexual Exploitation
What are the Police doing about all the Muslim grooming gangs in our area?
Insp Williams - The issue of Child Sexual Exploitation is one that we in the police and
our partners in the Council take very seriously. I am pleased to say that there is little
evidence that this is happening in Wakefield on the scale that we have seen
elsewhere. However, we are not complacent and the process for protecting young
people in Wakefield is as advanced as anywhere in the Country. We have a MASH
which is a partnership room within the police station where all intelligence and calls
for concern are assessed and actioned by the most appropriate partner. We follow
up all information and we are confident that we have a grip of this here. What I
mean by scale is that we will always have crimes of this nature in all communities but
there is no evidence that we have groups of men targeting young people here in
Wakefield as seen elsewhere in Rotherham and Birmingham. The Police and
Council will continue to take our safeguarding responsibilities seriously here in
Wakefield.
School Crossings
Why are the Council pulling funding for School Crossings? People are
parking by the schools and yet the police really haven’t done much about it.
Wakefield Council - Unfortunately because of budgetary pressures the council is
having to make massive savings, there has been a suggestion that especially in view
of the fact that many schools are becoming academies with their own budgets they
could perhaps contribute to the cost of crossing patrollers.
Insp Williams – We do have daily parking operations morning and evening. We take
a zero tolerance approach and issues tickets when we arrive without notice. We can
tackle several schools a week and do so where the complaints are worst. This is
having an effect and people are talking about it. Like with everything, we cannot
police everywhere all of the time. The public have a duty to be responsible too.
Taxi Drivers
What is done to protect young and old from taxi drivers that have not been
vetted properly and move around areas making it hard to keep tabs on them.
Why are convicted rapists/groomers/paedophiles allowed to drive the public
around. I know some that even drive school kids about. Surely they should be
banned from doing such jobs where public safety is paramount? Also why
aren’t taxis stopped and checked more?
Insp Williams - Taxi drivers are vetted through the council licencing department and
we have run several joint operations recently looking at any breaches. The penalties
are substantial and taxi drivers can lose their licences for 12 months and we have
seen some success.
Stolen Bins
If residents refuse to pay for a new bin after their bin is stolen, Is it possible for
them to put rubbish into black plastic bags and will the bin men collect them?
As Private landlords will we have to pay for a new bin when a tenant vacates
and the bin gets stolen while the property is empty awaiting a new tenant?
Wakefield Council - The aim of the policy is to increase public awareness of the
amount of funding required to replace missing bins from properties within our district.
In correlation with the policy we are wanting home owners and tenants to focus their
attention on wheeled bin management post collection i.e. to retrieve the bin from the
kerbside as soon as possible in order to reduce the risk of bins going missing. Bins
should be stored securely until a new tenant takes residence.
Fly Tipping
Fly Tipping again on Denstone Street?
Wakefield Council – The fly tipping has since been removed but other items have
appeared. We will write to residents and landlords to highlight issues/consequences
of fly tipping. We are also looking into a visit by our Waste Minimisation Team re bin
use and recycling.