Drug den boarded up in South Normanton

The council house attracted drugs activity and anti-social behaviour (Google).

The Closure Order, for Coronation Drive, South Normanton, owned by Bolsover District Council, was granted on 23 March 2017 from Northern Derbyshire Magistrates Court after the tenant and visitors subjected local residents and neighbours to continuous anti social behaviour (ASB) and distress.

The council and police were aware of a number of incidents of anti social behaviour, alleged crime and drug taking from the property which affected local people’s quality of life. Numerous approaches were made by the council to try and deal with the issues but the tenant in the property continued with their actions.

The court granted the order as they believed that a person had engaged (and if the order wasn’t made) and was likely to engage, in disorderly, offensive or criminal behaviour at the property and the order was necessary to prevent the nuisance or disorder from continuing.

Councillor John Ritchie Bolsover District Council’s cabinet member for community safety, said: “This was a huge problem which was causing distress to local residents – distress that no-one should have to put up with. We knew we had to act as fast as we could to stamp out the problem so we had no hesitation in using the Closure Power legislation.

“It’s never nice for anyone to have to put up with anti social behaviour day and night and local residents of this area have had to put up with more than their fair share. But, they can now sleep easy at night and enjoy their homes, knowing that the problem has been sorted. This should also serve as a warning to others that we will not tolerate this type of behaviour and we will use whatever powers and action are appropriate and available to us.”

The Closure Order is for three-months and the Council can also apply for an extension of another three-months after this time. The Council will seek possession of the property during the three-months to ensure that the perpetrators are not able to continue with their behaviour in the future. It is an imprisonable offence if any person tries to enter the property.