Residents on a Nottinghamshire street say they are pleased their neighbours have been removed after a Closure Order was placed on the property. Ashfield District Council and Nottinghamshire Police secured the order for a property on Warnadene Road, Sutton in Ashfield, following numerous reports from the public about criminal activity and violence at the address.
The order was approved at Mansfield Magistrate's Court on Thursday, December 15, which means that the property must remain closed for three months, and anyone who breaches the order could be imprisoned or issued a fine. Following inspections, Class A and Class B drugs were recovered from the property, in addition to zombie knives and drug paraphernalia.
Neighbours on the street say they are glad to see action being taken. A 38 year old mum who did not wish to be named said: "I'm glad they have gone.
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"We had police around and the windows were always being smashed in the early hours. It was going on and on for about six months."
Retired Collin Jarrett, 86, said: "We only noticed they they got a lot of visitors and people breaking windows and stuff like that. It's been over the last year or so but we did know that there were procedures going on to get them out.
"We are very pleased as they spoiled the whole road. We never noticed people moving out and them moving in but what I did notice was a lot of strange people walking down the street.
"We noticed things that's all." A 39 year old who lives nearby said she was unaware of what was going on at the property.
She said: "We have been alright. If there was anything then we never saw or heard anything.
"I've not really heard much or had much to do with it, it is what it is." Another resident who did not wish to be named said: "There were always police around there, but I just keep out of it all as it's nothing to do with us.
"I'm not surprised but I'm glad it's sorted." Councillor Helen-Ann Smith, Ashfield District Council, Executive Lead Member for Community Safety and Crime Reduction, described the property as "having a detrimental impact on the local community."
She said: "Ward Councillor for Leamington, Sarah Madigan, and I received reports of issues within this area and reported them to the Council and Police to ensure enforcement action was taken. This case demonstrates the benefits of partnership working between the Council and the Police, and how we are working to improve the local area.
"The Community Safety Partnership has secured over £1.3 million worth of funding to invest in preventing crime and anti-social behaviour across the District through the Safer Streets Fund and Safer4All Fund.’’ Inspector Jon Hewitt, district commander for Ashfield, added: "This property had unfortunately become a magnet for violence and drug-related crime and disorder and we were very regularly being called by concerned local residents.
"It was frankly an intolerable situation that was having a huge negative impact on people living nearby. Working with our council colleagues we have recently secured closure orders against other local addressed and will continue to take such action in the future.
"Nothing is more important to us than the safety and security of our residents, so when people persistently act in a way that upsets others or places them at risk, we will not hesitate to take action." Antonio Taylor, Community Safety Manager for Ashfield District Council, added: "This is a fantastic result for the local community who should not have to put up with this type of behaviour.
"I am glad action has been taken to address the issues so that residents within the area do not continue to suffer over the festive period’."
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