Community blighted by yobs call for wall to keep them safe

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Community blighted by yobs call for wall to keep them safe

Postby dutchman » Sun Oct 13, 2019 9:34 pm

Reports of being woken at 3am, vandalism and nightmare mopeds have got two sides of a community working together

Anti-social behaviour blighting the lives of two Coventry communities could be stemmed with the building of a wall and gate residents say.

Coming together to tackle the plague of moped riding, criminal damage and drunken behaviour, residents in the historic canal area of the city say they have had enough.

But a planning condition imposed when the newest of the communities was build in 2016 means the alleged caused of the trouble - an open access point - could be here to stay.

Nightmare moped rides, regular intimidation, and vandalism of community facilities have left residents of the new Weavers Wharf estate those on neighbouring Clinton Road in despair.

Building work started on Weavers Wharf estate in Foleshill in 2016, with residents moving in later that year.

Clinton Road is the adjoining road facing Weavers Wharf with the two connected by an access way.

However, this access point was once a brick wall with a large gate which remained in place as the estate was built.

The picture below depicts what the end of Clinton Road looked like before Weavers Wharf was built.

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The following picture shows what that same point looks like now that Weavers Wharf has been built with the heavy gate now removed and the access point left open.

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Highways bosses say it performs a key function as an access for emergency vehicles but also for pedestrians and cyclists.

Residents from both sides contacted CoventryLive in June 2019 to express their frustration at the increase in anti social behaviour, which they say centres on this access way being left open by Persimmon Homes.

They have described the opening between Weavers Wharf estate and Clinton Road as an easy target for criminals, saying stripped out stolen vehicles have started appearing in the estate.

We have followed residents as they have worked with their local neighbourhood policing team to create a residents association. They are determined to save their community, but some are now stating they want to move out of the area.

Both sides believe that the issue stems from a gap between Clinton Road and Weavers Wharf estate created as a result of Weavers Wharf estate being built in 2016.

They feel that as a result of that gap being there, local youths and others are treating it not only as a cut through, but as an opportunity to cause disruption and vandalism.

Residents from both sides shared stories of local youths urinating on their houses, guttering being ripped up and thrown in the nearby canal, the estate play area being vandalised and stolen cars being dumped.

One told us: "They [Persimmon Homes] have fobbed us off.

"We feel intimidated in our own homes."

One resident of Weavers Wharf estate said that he and other dads had resorted to litter picking on Saturday mornings to clear the mess.

A Clinton Road resident added: "This has been miserable for both sides. [Clinton Road] never used to be like this.

"The opening of this gate has created a whole lot of issues."

A Weavers Wharf resident added: "We were sold a dream. This has caused misery for both sides."

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