ASB- Update- Westgate on Sea

Dear residents of Westgate on Sea,

   Anti-social behaviour continues to be a focus for Kent Police in Westgate on Sea having been identified as one of the three priorities from the last My Community Voice survey.

   A building under development on Canterbury Road has been a hotspot for anti-social behaviour for several months now prompting numerous calls to Kent Police. Youths attending the location have been cutting through residential gardens to gain access, damaging garden ornaments in the process, and causing distress to residents who are confronted with a stranger in their garden. 

   CCTV was provided to me at the last Ward Surgery showing several of those attending the building. Through collaboration with local schools, every person shown in the CCTV was identified. Yesterday, I completed home visits to all of the persons identified and explored their behaviour with them and their parents/ guardians. The risk to their personal safety was discussed, along with the impact on surrounding residents. I am confident all of those engaged with will not be attending the location again and understood the warning given. The local schools have also been asked to deliver an assembly highlighting the risk to personal safety from entering buildings under development. 

   I have also been liaising with Thanet District Council Planning Department to ensure that they are aware of the ongoing issues at the location and asked them to consider enforcement powers available to them so that the site is adequately secured.

  This is an excellent example of residents and partner agencies working with Kent Police to robustly tackle a long-standing community problem.   

With kind regards

Steve