Safer Streets Brookside Project

The consultation began on 9 November 2020 and ended Monday 7 December 2020. 

The submissions to the consultation will be collated and compiled into a report for the Brookside Safer Streets project team to consider. Any suggestions put forward will be taken account of and the overall plans adjusted. This will happen in the New year.

If you would like to sign up to receive e-mails updates on the project, we will keep you updated – sign up. Updates will also be added to the webpages.

We will gather all of your comments together and compile a report so that the people who will make the decision have as much information as possible.

If you would like to sign up to receive e-mails updates on the project, we will keep you updated – sign up. Updates will also be added to the webpages.

The rules of the Home Office funding mean that the money must be invested in what are known as LSOA (areas with higher levels of acquisitive crime, according to UK crime stats), which is why the areas of Brookside are the focus of this scheme. We know the measures being proposed have worked well in other areas, and will review their effectiveness in these three areas of Brookside. If successful, we will look at other revenue streams available to us to roll out the measure in other parts of Brookside.

Many estates built from the early 1960s through the early 1980s have similar layouts to Brookside. Brookside was designed on the Radburn style estate housing of the 1920s originating from America, as a solution for middle class housing. Radburn estates were built throughout the UK for council tenants at high densities. The original Radburn houses faced onto the street, whereas British designs turned the properties around so that they fronted a pedestrian walkway with cars parked to the rear of the properties off the roads. The housing mix in Brookside is mainly semi-detached, terraces and flats, rented through social and private landlords, with some home owners. The properties are very closely situated together, with front doors located on alleyways and narrow lanes that weave through the estate – most aren’t overlooked and many have overgrown hedges/trees and are poorly lit. We can’t change the layout, but we can invest in improvement measures that are proven to reduce crime and make Brookside a safer, more pleasant place to live. There’s a great community spirit in Brookside and we want to enhance that. 

Alley-gating is the use of fences and gates to restrict movement in alleyways and footpaths which is proven to be an effective tool for crime prevention. They are designed so as not to inconvenience local residents going about their daily business, but to protect them and prevent offenders from using them for quick escapes. They also have the additional benefits of reducing littering and anti-social behaviour by discouraging and reducing access to those areas.

The alley-gating is not intended to inconvenience local residents going about their daily business, but to protect them and help reduce the opportunity for offenders to commit crime. The 14 proposed locations won’t stop people from getting to where they want to go; some may limit access points but the biggest detour will by 400m or so, so not far at all. 

Where possible posts will be directly set into the ground. However, where underground services or building foundations prevent this from happening, the posts will need to be fixed to the adjacent brickwork of the properties. 

The gates and fencing are unlikely to stop all people being able to climb over but will act as a good deterrent and will make it very difficult. 

The gates will be locked using a digital lock, which will be operated using a combination.

Where you have a right of access to the alleyway, the combination to the digital lock will be given to you. 

Everyone that has a right of access to that particular alleyway.

You will be responsible for giving access to the alleyway while keeping the details of the combination secure.

This will depend on the location of the alleyway and the right of access of others.

Possible organisations wanting combinations are: 

• emergency services
• utility companies
• council agents
• owners and landlords with properties in these blocks.

No. Your combination will only give access to the alleyway where you have a right to access.

You should e-mail privatesectorhousing@telford.gov.uk.

To upgrade and improve street lighting with LED lights to make it easier for residents to see things at night. LED lighting is proven also to reduce crime and make residents feel safer in their neighbourhood. Taller columns will also be able to accommodate new CCTV cameras to allow better monitoring of the area to further increase community safety.

Streetlights are designed to ensure that light is focused downwards to light up footways and roads for pedestrians and road users. Every enquiry will be fully investigated, the lighting angle can be altered, or if necessary a shield can be fitted to the light. Email any concerns to privatesectorhousing@telford.gov.uk.

In order to install the proposed alley-gating of alleyways and footpaths, we are legally required to draft a PSPO (Gating Order) which sets out reasoning behind why we think alley-gating is the best option, the evidence used to arrive at this decision and the reasons. PSPO Gating Orders are only pursued after all other appropriate options have been considered to address crime or antisocial behaviour issues. Once drafted, the PSPO would be reviewed after three years to make sure the Order is having the desired effect.

The Order will prohibit persons who do not have a right of access from being in the Restricted Areas at all times. Gating and fencing will be installed, operated and maintained by the Council at the entrances to the Restricted Areas. It is intended that the Order will be in effect for 3 years, subject to any variation or extension of its duration.

If someone breaches the PSPO and this is witnessed by an authorised officer then the details will be written down on an incident reporting form and sent to the appropriate department within the Council. They will then look into the evidence provided and, if appropriate a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) of up to £100 will be issued, reduced to £60 if paid within 10 days. If the FPN is not paid then the Council will take legal advice and would look to prosecute in court where a fine of up to £1,000 can be given.

A number of authorised officers within the Council will be trained on how to identify a breach of the PSPO and what to do if they witness someone committing a breach. If the evidence supports a breach of the PSPO then a Fixed Penalty Notice will be sent by post to the individual. We will also work with West Mercia Police to provide evidence to support enforcement of breach of the restrictions.