By Cllr Michael Hudston
As you will probably know, anti-social behaviour has been on the increase in Calne. We have had a number of incidents, including a fight outside of Sainsburys involving a number of youths from Devizes and another incident where a local youth had to be pepper sprayed and detained by the police.
Since I was co-opted as a councillor in March 2022, I have received numerous complaints from residents, all over the town about groups of youths and the anti-social behaviour they have caused. Unfortunately, this will only increase with the lighter evenings and warmer weather. I fully accept that this is all caused by a small minority with one or two ring leaders, but it does need addressing.
I have also received complaints about the Graffiti on the old Coop Building and some of the new “Street Art” that has appeared in the town.
To that end, I developed a Policy for Calne Town Council covering Anti-Social Behaviour, Graffiti and Street Art. That policy was recently adopted by Calne Town Council.
The policy empowers Calne Town Council to do a number of things
It brings together all the stakeholders, including Shops, Schools, Police and other bodies to ensure that anti-social behaviour and its causes are tackled in a joined-up way.
It allows Calne Town Council to require that Wiltshire Council enact their enforcement powers granted under Part 4, Chapter 1 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 (the act), to deal with anything that encourages Anti-Social Behaviour or property owners/manager who fail to deal with Graffiti and flyposting.
It also provides guidance and a simple process to follow for anyone wishing to commission Street Art, so to ensure no laws are broken.
It has the buy-in of the chair of the Calne Community Safety Forum, which can use this policy to encourage the local supermarkets, to do more to prevent alcohol thefts by underage drinkers, which is one cause of anti-social behaviour.
As the first real test of this policy, I will be requesting Calne Town Council and Wiltshire Council issue a Community Protection Notice under the above act, against the owners of the former COOP property in Calne. This is because they have failed to respond to repeated informal requests by Wiltshire Police and myself to tidy up the site and remove the Graffiti that is facing the public street. This site has been attracting Anti Social behaviour in its vicinity, including a number of break-ins, and attempts at fire-setting.
A bristol property owner has recently been fined by Bristol City Council for a very similar issue, after failing to comply with such a notice.
Street Art
Calne Town Council is in favour of street art. If we were against it, we wouldn’t have the head, the pigs or the sheep. The policy clearly defines the differences between what is considered Graffiti and what can be considered Street Art.
The Aim of this element of the policy, is that before any street art is considered, such as those that recently appeared off Abberd Way, the organisers have properly considered the legal issues, obtained the necessary permissions, and consulted with local businesses, residents, and the Town Council to gauge the appetite for such an installation in that location.
The policy provides a simple check list and form to fill in and present to the Town Council, not necessarily for approval, but for awareness and to allow Calne Town Council to provide guidance or to highlight if anything may not be legal.
Image by Freepik
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