Nottingham’s City West area policing team says it has received a boost thanks to the demolition of an unused building notorious for attracting trouble.
The Bilborough-based Glenbrook Management Centre has become a magnet for antisocial behaviour (ASB) for some time now.
Located next to Harvey Hadden Sports Village, the building in Wigman Road regularly attracted the attention of neighbourhood officers.
Police have received numerous reports of people gaining access to the derelict site before causing criminal damage and other offences.
One incident in April saw a large group of young people break into the building, light fires, cause criminal damage, and climb on the roof too.
City West officers identified 14 young people involved in the ASB, before visiting their homes to speak to their parents and hand out warning notices.
The hope is that such issues at the ASB hotspot area will now be a thing of the past though, after the building was successfully demolished last week.
That’s following some partnership work between the police and Nottingham City Council, who arranged for the site to be knocked down on Friday (17 October).
The City West neighbourhood policing team has made targeting ASB a priority for some time now across the area and has achieved some success on that front.
A police car parked outside Glenbrook Management Centre, before it’s demolition
ASB has dropped by 18 per cent in the City West over the last year, while offences have dropped still further – by 33 per cent – in the Bilborough area specifically.
A lot of these offences have been found to revolve around young people, so the neighbourhood officers spend a fair bit of time trying to identify and engage with those involved.
Regular patrols and targeted days of action are used to try and stop the behaviour at an early stage, with tenancy warnings then issued to parents of those who continue to offend.
For Neighbourhood Inspector Gordon Fenwick, the hope is that the removal of the Glenbrook site as a potential ASB hub will reduce issues still further for the local community.
“For some time now, our team has received reports of this building being a bit of a magnet for different types of antisocial behaviour”, said Inspector Fenwick.
“We’ve had to respond to young people gaining access to the unused site without permission, climbing on the roof, vandalising the building, lighting fires deliberately and all sorts of other issues.
“In addition to the obvious problems around that from a community standpoint, it’s worth noting as well the safety issues that come with a derelict building like this being abused in this way.
“Bearing all this in mind, we’re delighted to see this site has now been safely demolished, following an extensive amount of planning with our partners at Nottingham City Council.
“It’s been really pleasing to see the ASB rate drop across Bilborough and the City West over the last year, and we hope this latest development will help improve the situation even further.”
Councillor Corall Jenkins, Executive Member for Neighbourhoods, Waste and Equalities at Nottingham City Council, added:
“Residents have told us how much this derelict site has affected their neighbourhood, and we’ve worked with partners to take action. Demolition will remove an eyesore that has attracted nuisance and risk, and it’s a positive step forward for the local community.
“Our Antisocial Behaviour team and Neighbourhood Safety Officers have been working closely with Nottinghamshire Police to tackle issues linked to the site, and this partnership approach is making a real difference across the city. We’ll continue to work with partners to keep the area secure while the demolition takes place, and I want to thank residents for their patience as this work is carried out.”
