As we emerge from the Christmas period into a new year it’s a great time to reflect on the festivities and make resolutions for the future, writes Sue Reece.
However, for a number of Chilton and Ferryhill residents, the reflections may not be so positive with several reporting an increase in theft, criminal damage and antisocial behaviour (ASB). This has led to a swell of social media postings asking for information to assist with reporting or simply posing the question, “what can be done?”
The first step is always to report any crime or instance of anti-social behaviour to the police so that they can deal with the incident and assist in building a picture of criminal activity within the area.
The answer to what we can do to tackle the issues at root cause might not be something that comes immediately to mind, but developing safer communities through good neighbourhood planning has proved to be effective in other areas.
Promoting good design and layout in urban development is one of the most important ways in which a council or local authority can address community safety issues.
Good designs and layouts can make crimes more difficult to commit, increase the likelihood of detection and improve public perceptions of safety. Attractive and well-designed environments also encourage a sense of pride and ‘local ownership’ amongst the local community.
An understanding of the local context through a Neighbourhood Plan is an effective tool in tackling crime and ASB, alongside meeting the planning objectives of the town.
The layout of streets, buildings and public spaces influence levels of pedestrian activity and criminal activity is less likely to occur where there is a high risk of being observed.
So, ensuring that all publicly accessible spaces are well lit, well used and well-overlooked provides natural surveillance and creates a safer more attractive environment that can make people feel more secure.
Recreational spaces and play areas need be located in accessible areas that are well designed, secure, and clearly signposted for their intended use.
Providing facilities and activities that relate to specific age ranges, and by engaging young people in the conversation about what they need, has proved to be successful in other towns, providing safe space and diverting vulnerable young people away from ASB.
Wallsend and Howden saw a 48% reduction in ASB within four months through Project Vita. Young people said they didn’t want a traditional youth club but needed a safe space to meet and to have a say in the type of outreach activities and support available to them.
Through a neighbourhood planning process with your input, we can identify hotspots where criminal activity and antisocial behaviour occurs and propose where funding should be focused to implement crime prevention measures including landscape design, lighting, CCTV, public access routes, and designated recreational spaces.
We can also ensure that when granting planning permission for new developments, conditions are imposed that address community safety objectives.
We need your help to identify where we can make improvements to plan, design and build a safer future for the Chilton community.
How to get involved
Chilton residents can feed into the consultation in a number of ways:
Fill in a survey – all respondents will be entered into a prize draw for high street vouchers.
The Residents, Young People (12+) and Children’s surveys are available from Chilton Town Council Hutton House, Chilton Academy Reception or downloadable from chiltondurham-tc.gov.uk.
The Residents survey can also be accessed at www.surveymonkey.com/r/NPlan1.
Attend the next public meeting at 6pm on 22 January at Hutton House.
Contact Sue Reece or Anne Hall, by emailing neighbourhoodplan[@]chiltondurham-tc[.]gov[.]uk, or call 01388 721788.
Ferryhill & Chilton's local community newspaper.
