During the last financial year (2021-22) the Town Hall has had to spend almost £70,000 on repairing the damage caused by anti-social tenants in council housing stock. This money could be better used help to house the most vulnerable in our Borough, and local Conservatives are taking action to tackle it.
Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Housing, Cllr Clare Golby, has been leading a crackdown on this behaviour since taking control of the Council, and has introduced a zero tolerance approach to bad behaviour in our properties.
Under Clare's leadership, several new initiatives have been put forward to combat the anti-social behaviour that in ruining the lives of law abiding citiziens:
- New specialist teams - a Tenancy Management Team and a Neighbourhood Team
- The Neighbourhood Team will be focussed on tenant-based issues, including anti-social behaviour
- ASB Officers will get stuck into the local community and listen to residents' views and report back on inappropriate behaviour
- Officers are being trained on how to take injunctions to Court so that swift enforcement can be taken
Cllr Golby commented on the recent changes:
Anti-social behaviour is a scourge on our communities. When I came into this position I was shocked at the lack of willingness by the previous leadership to take action against perpetrators.
When I said we would take a more zero tolerance approach, I meant it.
Not only does anti-social behaviour negatively affect people in their own homes, but it comes at a high cost to the hard working taxpayers in our borough and that’s not acceptable.
My housing teams have been happy and eager to get stuck into this new way of working and are doing a great job. The message I have for those causing trouble in our communities is you don’t get a free ride anymore.
We’ll deal with anti-social behaviour and criminals in our property in the strongest way possible, you could end up with nowhere to live or in prison and we’ll come after you for costs of repairs, too.
