Closure updates

Dear All,

In the last two weeks your ward team has successfully delivered closure orders on two properties that had become centres of drug dealing and associated anti-social behaviour (ASB).

The first was a flat on Regency Street, the second, a flat on the Peabody Estate on Vauxhall Bridge Road.

In both cases the addresses had become prolific locations for the sale and consumption of Class A drugs. The associated ASB had profoundly negative effects on significant numbers of local residents. It was due to their reporting that we first became aware of the activity which led to increased patrolling and intelligence gathering. 

The persistent nature of the offending and the significance of its local impact persuaded us that closure was the best course of action. Ward team officers in coordination with partner agencies gathered witness statements and compiled detailed submissions for consideration by a magistrate. Both applications were quickly granted.  The term of closure in each case is three months and is extendable on review. 

The sale and use of illegal drugs remain real challenges on our ward. We are committed to identifying and shutting down properties which become the centre for this damaging activity.