We’re working with partners to tackle anti-social behaviour in Hillfields

Over the last 12 months we’ve been tackling anti-social behaviour in Hillfields to combat issues including disturbances and fly tipping.

We worked with partners including West Midlands Police and Coventry City Council to improve the neighbourhood for customers.

Results include:

• Obtaining five injunctions against individuals causing serious anti-social behaviour such as threatening behaviour and for trespassing into high-rise blocks. These were granted by the court and are a way of preventing further anti-social behaviour. Breaching them can lead to prison as well as people losing their homes.
• We worked closely with West Midlands Police who served three anti-social behaviour related Closure Orders on addresses in Citizen high-rise blocks after receiving reports of drug dealing and residents causing disturbances. This makes it illegal for the individuals to enter the addresses.
• Completed work with Coventry City Council to improve the local environment in the Brook Close and Vernon Close area following reports of anti-social behaviour. Trees and shrubs have been cut back to make it lighter and improve surveillance to deter crime making spaces feel more comfortable and safer for visitors. New colourful plants have been planted in shrub beds making the outdoor space more attractive, healthy and enjoyable.
• Removing fly tipping from Brook Close and Vernon Close. It is an offence to fly-tip rubbish and if found guilty of this, the perpetrator could be fined up to £50k or face up to five years imprisonment.
• Improved the security of our high-rise blocks by installing new steel communal front doors.

All of these initiatives are thanks to the launch of a neighbourhood plan for the area – a document which is written in conjunction with local residents to tackle the main issues in the area which include anti-social behaviour and this plan helps to shape future improvements and services for the neighbourhood.

Our director of housing care and support Peter Gill said: “We have been working hard with our partners including West Midlands Police and Coventry City Council to tackle the anti-social behaviour in the Hillfields area of Coventry.

“We have been meeting with residents so we can use their feedback to continue to improve our services. Following these meetings, we will be putting more resources into our neighbourhood services teams to reassure our residents and to be able to respond to issues quickly.

“We are committed to working with our customers to reduce anti-social behaviour and on a daily basis, our neighbourhood team and concierge teams based in Hillfields continue to work closely with police to prevent anti-social behaviour and crime being committed in the area.

“If any of our customers are experiencing anti-social behaviour, we encourage them to report it to us straight away.”

Chief Inspector Dave Amos, from the Coventry Local Policing Area, said: “These have been some excellent pieces of work in which neighbourhood concerns have been directly addressed.

“Thank you to everyone who has come forward with their concerns – if you are worried about anti-social behaviour in your neighbourhood, get in touch with us and let us know.

“We are committed to tackling anti-social behaviour, neighbourhood crime and exploitation and will work with partners to secure civil interventions where possible.”

Councillor David Welsh, Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities at Coventry City Council, added: “Without our partnership working approach to tackle anti-social behaviour, these outcomes would not have been achieved. It’s an example of how we can work together to resolve issues effectively.

“We’ve seen some really positive outcomes following this work and I’m pleased that residents living in Hillfields have noticed a difference. We will continue to engage with residents and listen to what they have to say to ensure our work has a lasting impact.”

In the next year neighbourhood plans will be rolled out to other areas to help combat anti-social behaviour in the same way.

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