Police kick tenants out of trouble-hit Stoke-on-Trent bungalow for three months
Police have shut down a city bungalow after it became a magnet for 'serious nuisance and criminal activity'. The closure order granted for the Middleport property has been branded a 'great win' by community leaders.
StokeonTrentLive has reported how fed-up residents had reported drug-dealing, fights, late-night visitors, and thefts linked to the Burgess Street address. One neighbour said cars would be 'pulling up at all hours of the night' with 'young girls going in there'.
Now officers in Stoke-on-Trent have secured a three-month closure order for the address. The order, granted at North Staffordshire Justice Centre, means nobody can go inside during that period - unless they have permission from officers or magistrates.
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Chief Inspector Laura Davies, from Stoke-on-Trent North Local Policing Team, said: “I hope this outcome provides some reassurance to the local community that we, along with our partners, will take action and use all available powers to address issues affecting them. We’re determined to work in tandem with the local authority to achieve more results like this and to continue delivering what our communities want from us.”
Officers say it forms part of the 'Making Great Places' initiative with Stoke-on-Trent City Council - which focuses on not only criminality but cleaning up certain neighbourhoods across the Potteries.
Councillor Chris Robinson, cabinet member for housing and planning at the local authority, has said: “Evidence speaks for itself when it comes to collaborative work with partners and reinforces the work we are doing as a partnership as part of our approach around Making Great Places. Our anti-social behaviour team has successfully supported Staffordshire Police in securing a closure order on a property on Burgess Street. Not only is this a great win for the council and Staffordshire Police, but for the residents, who have been plagued with anti-social behaviour for long enough.”
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