Rick's St Mary's Diary

I have been contacted by a local resident about anti-social behaviour in the Prestwich Village area, in particular around West Street. This is one of the quieter streets in the area, not normally high profile, and possibly not on the radar for local action. The resident was, like a lot of people I’ve spoken to about this, quite frustrated about the problem of young people on bikes (push bikes and mini motor bikes) and in large groups hanging around and making local residents feel quite intimidated.

I think that this issue may well crop up at the next Prestwich Area Board on 25th September. All local residents are welcome, and I would encourage anyone with an issue that they would like to raise to attend. The venue has yet to be confirmed, but check local press nearer the time for details.

In the meantime, I referred the resident to Sgt Campbell at the local police station, and will certainly raise the matter with Cllr O’Hanlon when I next see him.

The resident was concerned that, despite lots of people raising this as an issue, not much seems to be happening to resolve it. He hinted that he was losing faith in the Police. Whilst I admit that sometimes progress is slow, what I can say with confidence is that all the local Councillors are working with the Police to try and target resources to problem areas more effectively. We can only do this properly through effective communication with local people, so it’s vital that any issues or incidents that you have are reported to the Police. This way we can all keep a track on the local trouble-spots, problem-patches and areas where problems are getting better.

And if you don’t want to go directly to the police, or are unsure of who to contact, please feel free to contact me via this site or on the phone (798 4996). I will be happy to chat to you!

Rick