Sutton crime alley closed to increase safety of women

The passageway, which runs between Bentinck Street and Welbeck Street, has been gated off as part of a three-year public space protection order.

New gates worth £5,000 have been installed to secure the area thanks to funding from the Home Office's Safer Streets project, which is designed to increase the protection of women and girls and reduce the opportunity for crime and violence.

The funding will also provide £3,000 of maintenance on the gates for the next three years.

Caroline Henry, Nottinghamshire police and crime commissioner, secured £550,000 from the fund after submitting a successful bid in partnership with Ashfield Council, Nottinghamshire Police and Nottinghamshire Council.

The new gating order is one of a raft of improvements under way to improve safety following the results of a survey of women living in Sutton.

Women who contributed to the research described feeling unsafe when making journeys to and from bus stops, especially in secluded areas with poor lighting where they were likely to come into contact with street drinkers and people engaging in anti-social behaviour.

Alley gates are designed to limit access to passageways to prevent crime.

Mrs Henry said: “We’ve listened carefully to women and their experiences of harassment and have taken positive action to address their concerns.

“The strip of land between Bentinck Street and Welbeck Street is well-known to the police and Ashfield Council due to the numerous reports of anti-social behaviour.

“These incidents have had a detrimental impact on those who live in this locality and have heightened the fear of crime, especially for women.

“We want women to feel safe and we want them to know we take their concerns seriously.

“This gating order is one of a number of measures being funded by Safer Streets to increase the security of public spaces so women feel less restricted in their daily lives and can enjoy their community without fear.”

Concern

Inspector Mark Dickson, Nottinghamshire Police’s Ashfield district commander, said: “This alleyway has been a cause of concern for some time to local residents who have complained of anti-social behaviour, drug dealing and other offending behaviour.

“As a police officer, I am always looking for ways for different ways to address problems so I was pleased to support the installation of this gate which will complement other ongoing work to help keep people safe in our community."

Coun Helen-Ann Smith, council cabinet member for community protection and crime reduction, said: “The council has been working with the residents of Welbeck Street to get the alley gated off. It is fantastic that as part of the council's PSPO and Gating Order, and with funding from Safer Streets that we have been able to achieve this.

“The area was a hotbed for anti-social behaviour and residents can now be reassured and feel safer in their community.

“We are committed to creating a cistrict that is safe, clean and brings pride to the people that live here. We have shown time and time again that anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated in Ashfield.”

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