City council to crack down on street drinking, gangs, drug culture in Birmingham
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City council chiefs want to crackdown on aggressive street drinking, gangs and drug culture in two specific areas blighted by anti-social behaviour.
Proposals are now in place to reintroduce a strict public space protection order (PSPO) – which enables police officers to clamp down on nuisance behaviour – between Kings Heath and Moseley.
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Hide AdNicky Brennan, Birmingham City Council’s champion for community safety, said: “Moseley and Kings Heath are fantastic places to live in, work in and visit, and I want our city to be a place where people feel safe wherever they are, at all times of day.
“However, I am aware that there are issues around anti-social behaviour that residents and visitors to Moseley and Kings Heath experience almost daily.
“We want to ensure people feel safe when they are out and about, so this PSPO aims to tackle anti-social behaviour with a view to improving safety in public spaces in this area.”
Kings Heath and Moseley had a PSPO in place in 2014 which lapsed due to Covid at the beginning of 2020. Fast-forward three years and city bosses want to enhance the powers of police teams in order to clean the streets of booze and brazen drug abuse, as well as clamping down on vandalism and graffiti.
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Hide AdA six-week consultation has now been launched with residents in Moseley and Kings Heath urged to get in touch via the council’s feedback form. As reported previously, daytime drinkers and drug users have continued to plague Moseley in particular, with locals stressing how one particular bus stop is likened to a pub.
Moseley Street Watch volunteer Radley Russell said: “There are regular complaints about people seen buying or taking drugs such as cannabis or spice, or drinking alcohol in the public space and getting drunk from 9am in the morning. It’s a daily occurrence. There have been a few massively aggressive incidents as well.
“The PSPO which expired there has never been renewed. It’s becoming a massive nuisance to the point that local residents and visitors have been verbally abused and there have been fights. Most of these people don’t live in Moseley Village but come here just to drink and take drugs.
“It’s intimidating to people who actually want to use the bus stop there. This is happening from morning to night. It’s an ongoing battle.”
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Hide AdIf introduced, an all-new PSPO will cover residential areas along Alcester Road – which runs through Kings Heath and Moseley – as well as Kings Heath Park, Highbury Park and the centre of Moseley. It will be in place for three years. The public consultation will be ongoing until September 17.
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