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BLOG—HERE YOU CAN FIND OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE PARISH
During January and February 2004 the parish council carried out a consultation on service provision in order to identify what the local community would like to see. We are now working in partnership with the Borough of Telford & Wrekin to provide a number of additional environmental enhancements.
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When we carried out a consultation in 2004 it revealed dog fouling and litter to be one of the major issues. In order to address this, in partnership with Telford & Wrekin Council the parish council has provided several new litter bins throughout the parish, particularly in areas where children frequent e.g. safe routes to school. Dog owners can use these litter bins to deposit their dog litter, especially since dog fouling signs have also been placed in close proximity to the litter bins and hopefully the parish will look much cleaner. (This work has been carried out in partnership with Telford & Wrekin Council)
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The bus shelter shown on the left was situated at Mannerley Lane, Overdale and is one of four that have been replaced within the parish. However, not long after it was replaced the new one became vandalised. Now, along with all bus shelters within the parish, it has been fitted with anti vandal material which will make it difficult for graffiti writers, although unfortunately the front of the notice board on this shelter still shows signs of vandalism (right). (This work has been carried out in partnership with Telford & Wrekin Council) |
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We have planted daffodil bulbs at various locations to flower during each spring. Areas included are Cedar Close, Rock Road, Marlborough Way, Old Park and Lawley Village. (This work has been carried out in partnership with Telford & Wrekin Council)
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The Parish Council has also providing additional street lighting at Cedar Close, and Dawley Bank. |
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DEALING WITH CRIME AND DISORDER
In its duty to comply with section 17 of the Crime and Disorder Act the parish council has now employed a Community Support Officer (CSO) initially on a three year contract in partnership with the Borough of Telford & Wrekin and West Mercia Constabulary. We feel that a CSO will improve the quality of life for our local community by engaging with local residents and making them feel safe. The parish council alone cannot deal with dog litter, parking offences and anti social behaviour and similar issues that are important to our local community. Our own CSO will be able to administer fixed penalty notices for some of the issues that concern you such as: - cycling on footpaths, graffiti, fly tipping and dog fouling and will provide a visible presence in the community and be a major driver for the maintenance and improvement of the local environment. Revenue from fixed penalty notices issued by CSOs does not go back to the Treasury but is retained by the Local Authority. The Borough of Telford & Wrekin now has the necessary legislation in place so that fixed penalty notices can be administered by CSOs. However, before a fixed penalty notice can be issued the CSO must witness the offence.
Although Police have more powers they are not always available to police the streets and are assigned to more high profile crimes than the normal issues that affect the local community. CSOs walk the streets for 60% of their time and work shifts between the hours of 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. They also work one Saturday or Sunday every 28 days. CSOs are trained to give Crime and Fire Prevention advice. The annual cost to employ a CSO is around £21,000 plus a one off initial cost of £1,300 which pays for an air wave radio, a vest and uniform. Their salary is made up from a basic of £14,000 plus 13% (approx. £3,000) for after 6 p.m. and weekend working and of course NI, PAYE and Pension. To help towards the first years cost the parish council was awarded £5,000 from the Countryside Agency following a successful bid to which only Quality Councils were eligible.
As a Quality Council we are actively working in partnership with other agencies and the CSO will assist the parish council in its commitment “to give our local community a better deal on local services, and a stronger voice on decisions that affect their day to day lives”. Our own CSO will assist in the maintenance and improvement of our local environment by supporting the enforcement of nuisance issues and tackling key local crime issues with other agencies. The presence of our CSO makes our local community feel safe, reduces crime and vandalism and ensures that the local environment is well maintained.
Since January 2004 CSOs employed within Telford & Wrekin have: * reported over 400 vehicles to DVLA for taxation offences * carried out over 2000 tasks allocated by the police including ASB complaints, nuisance, public safety etc. * approx. 600 reports of fly tipping, graffiti etc. have been reported to the Borough of Telford & Wrekin * submitted nearly 200 Intelligence reports |
