Bold action planned to tackle problematic town centre location

The access ramp leading from York Road to Middleton Grange Shopping Centre has become a challenge for authorities to tackle, with various reports of anti-social behaviour and other criminal behaviour allegedly taking place at the location.

Following the concerns of authorities and residents, the Safer Hartlepool Partnership, a multi-agency approach to keeping Hartlepool safe, has drawn up an action plan with the aim of getting tough and tackling the problems head on.

Jonathan Brash MP, Chair of the Safer Hartlepool Partnership, said: “The ramp has become a blight to our town and can at times be an intimidating place for people wanting to shop at Middleton Grange Shopping Centre. We are determined to explore new initiatives and enforcement powers to tackle this problem.

“This will not be a quick fix but we will not stop until we have exhausted every option to create a long-term solution to this problem. We will continue to share updates as we hit key milestones as we move through the action plan.”

The action plan recommends the introduction of Public Space Protection Orders, subject to statutory consultation and formal approval processes, across the town centre which would seek to ban behaviour that would not immediately be considered criminal, such as drinking in public spaces, foul and abusive language and threatening behaviour.

The creation of a ‘support hub’ in the town centre will also be progressed which would seek to bring together a range of support services in an attempt to tackle some of the underlying causes of the anti-social behaviour.

Reviews will take place between the Council’s Licensing Team and Cleveland Police with the aim of reducing the sale of alcohol in the area to intoxicated individuals.

A publicity campaign will be used to promote awareness of the Council’s CCTV Control room and how members of the public and residents can report ASB.

A ‘Retail Crime Forum’ will be created to ensure that the voices of retailers are heard and to promote the reporting of crime within the area.

Work is also being progressed by Cleveland Police which would see a range of police powers being given to Middleton Grange Shopping Centre Security Team operating within the area. The powers may include the confiscation of alcohol, issuing fixed penalty notices littering, dog fouling, graffiti and fly-posting and the power to issue penalty notices for disorder including behaviour likely to cause harassment alarm or distress.

Commenting on the action plan, Councillor Brenda Harrison, Leader of Hartlepool Borough Council, said: “Tackling the issues at this location is complex but through our multi-agency partnership approach and exploring the use of new enforcement powers, I believe that we can begin to see improvements very soon.

“Our aim is always to make Hartlepool a safer place and we will continue to strive every day to make this happen.”

Superintendent Alan O’Donaghue of Hartlepool Police said: “Cleveland Police is committed to tackling individuals who consistently make our public spaces feel unsafe. Anti-social behaviour and crime can have a significant impact on those who live in the town and local businesses, and we will continue working closely with partners, utilising a broad range of powers to address repeat offenders and keep our communities safe.”

The work to complete the actions from the action plan is already underway.