People living on a Mansfield estate where firefighters have been attacked with golf balls fear new money to tackle the area's anti-social behaviour is a "drop in the ocean". Authorities including Nottinghamshire Police and Mansfield District Council are working together to bring down crime on the Oak Tree Lane estate.
Nottinghamshire Live has previously reported on people living in Oak Tree feeling intimidated by a spate of incidents. Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service confirmed that its crews were dealing with a fire started deliberately at the Oak Tree Heath when they were attacked with golf balls earlier this year.
Residents say that other recent incidents including doors being kicked in and people being beaten up in the street. Nottinghamshire Police, Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue and Mansfield District Council will now be working together on an action plan for the Oak Tree Lane estate using £33,000 of funding that the council successfully bid for.
Officers will be spending more time in the area and the council said it hopes to "make the estate a better and safer place to live".
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The money has come from Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner Caroline Henry, who announced an overall pot of £800,000 to support crime prevention schemes between 2022 and 2025. Known as "Safer4All Funding", £100,000 of it was assigned to every one of Nottinghamshire's local authorities to be used over the three-year time span, equating to £33,300 a year.
Oak Tree has been designated as a priority neighbourhood by Mansfield District Council, which has therefore decided to spend the new funding to reduce crime on the estate. Bike security events and CCTV are among the measures being taken, with a formal action plan being delivered between now and March.
But some people living in Oak Tree feared that the money wouldn't be enough. Mark Bellamy, 61, who lives next to the estate, said: "I don't think £30,000 will really cover a lot, especially at the moment.
"That said, we do need something because we do have a lot of incidents. We had all the lead nicked from the bay windows at the houses near us when they were being sold and you hear of much worse. £30,000 does seem a drop in the ocean though and what you also need is a visible deterrent like more police patrols."
One 40-year-old resident living near the estate, who did not want to be named given his previous work in the police, said: "That amount of money does seem a bit of a token gesture. What will happen is that we'll get a load of work from the fire service around arson, police will probably chuck Operation Reacher at the off-road bikes again and that'll be about it. The time between now and March doesn't seem very long to sort these problems out."
But authorities are insistent that the work being carried out will make a difference. Arson and the theft of bicycles have emerged from crime figures as particular issues on the estate, meaning that they will be the focus of several crime prevention events in the coming weeks.
These events will offer free locks and anti-theft kits, whilst outreach work will also take place with schools and community groups. Meanwhile, the council plans to install a CCTV camera at the edge of Oak Tree's heathland and in the near future, fire engines will carry adverts specific to the Oak Tree Lane Estate.
Many residents said that the new schemes and funding were "worth a try." Ray Thorne, 88, said: "This is a very nice area in the main but you do get some issues. People did try and break into my garage once and into the neighbour's as well.
"When they try and do nice things for the area that doesn't always work either. They put a load of trees in once about six or seven foot high and the next day they had been chopped down.
"I think they get a lot more problems at Bellamy Road as well to be honest. I think it's good news that they are trying something."
Yvonne Shephard, 68, said: "It has got to be worth a try and they have got to do something because we've been here for 33 years, and it's never been as bad as it has been recently. People get beaten up, kids are bashing on people's windows and running off, and people are having to put their own security measures in place because there isn't the CCTV here."
But Inspector Kylie Davies, the district commander for Mansfield, said: "We are working hard with our partners to address the concerns of local residents about persistent antisocial behaviour and crime in this area. It simply isn't acceptable that the behaviour of a small minority of people can have such significant impact on other people's lives.
"The local neighbourhood team are spending more and more time in the area in order to build stronger, more trusting relationships with residents. These latest initiatives are a good example of that hands-on approach and I am pleased to say there is plenty more of this kind of work to come."
Councillor Marion Bradshaw, Mansfield District Council's Portfolio Holder for Safer Communities, Housing and Wellbeing, added: "The people living on this estate, which suffers a high level of deprivation, often feel abandoned by agencies so we hope this crime prevention action plan will address those feelings as well as making the estate a better and safer place to live."
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