Minutes:
The Mayor
stated that he wished to speak on the following issues:
Anti-social
behaviour
The Mayor
stated that anti-social behaviour was an issue across the whole of the country.
Although progress had been made in some areas, anti-social behaviour was still
too high in Middlesbrough.
The Mayor
advised that there had been longstanding issues with anti-social behaviour in
the Hemlington area. Many of the issues were mainly due to a small group of
people who were committed to carrying out acts of anti-social behaviour. The
police were unable to police the area 24 hours a day and there was a limit to
what they were able to do.
The Council
could spend more money on youth services, but more needed to be done. There
needed to be consequences for bad behaviour. The Mayor urged people to continue
to report anti-social behaviour and crime in the area, so that the police had
enough data/evidence to prosecute the offenders. Twenty four new security
cameras had been ordered, and were due to be installed throughout the
Hemlington area. The delivery had been delayed due to Covid, but they were due
to arrive in three weeks. It was anticipated that the cameras would deter crime
and capture any incidents in the area. This would assist in any action being
taken against the offenders. More resources would be allocated to Hemlington in
the near future.
The Mayor
stated that every Ward had some elements of anti-social behaviour/crime, but by
continuing to report it, hopefully the perpetrators would be caught and
prosecuted.
BOHO X
The Mayor
advised that it was anticipated that BOHO X would be completed in the following
ten months. The Council was currently in advanced discussions with those
interested in occupying the site.
Tollesby
Shops
The Mayor
advised that Tollesby shops had been derelict and an eyesore for a number of
years and the site had attracted anti-social behaviour and damaged people’s
mental health. Following the Council’s acquisition of the Tollesby shops, there
would be new apartments for retired people and shops for the community would be
put in place of the old shops. The Mayor urged people to get in touch if they
had any issues regarding sites that had become an eyesore and the Council would
try and deal with the issue.
Cleveland
Centre
The Mayor
advised that the Council had purchased the Cleveland Centre for two reasons.
The price of the centre had fallen from £100m to £12m and the rental that the
Council received from the occupiers of the Centre, exceeded the cost of the
loans and the interest that the Council had to pay. Doing nothing was not an
option, and the centre needed to be looked after.
Captain
Cook Square Shopping Centre
The Mayor advised
that the builders were currently on site in the former T J Hughes store. A
private company had taken over the premises. The plans for the site, included
an indoor Go Carting/Golf/Bowling Centre which would be open from 10.00am until
2.00am. It was anticipated that the facility would open in April 2022.
Executive
Members
The Mayor
advised that he had appointed two new Executive Members. Councillor Luke Mason
had been appointed as Executive Member for Young Adults and Political
Engagement, and Councillor Tony Grainge had been appointed as Executive Member
for Neighbourhood Safety.
Holocaust
Memorial Day
The Mayor
reminded people that the following day was Holocaust Memorial Day. He urged
members to think about the Holocaust and also to remember the people caught up
in the conflict in Ukraine.
Jobs and
the future
The Mayor
stated that the television and the press were full of negative things. Utility
bills were due to increase and this would hit the poorest people hardest and
the Government and the Council needed to plan for that.
The Mayor
advised that he had recently attended a jobs fair, and had been informed that
there was difficulties in filling all of the vacancies. He advised that the
opportunity to work had never been so vast.
Councillor
M Storey stated that in respect of the Holocaust, everyone need to reflect on
the event, He advised that it was getting to the point that there would be
nobody left alive who had suffered as a result of the event and lessons needed
to be learned.
Anti-social
behaviour was a major issue, and although the focus was currently on the
Hemlington area, there needed to be a strategic policy on anti-social behaviour
and crime to cover the whole of the town. The PSPO currently only covered the
Central and Newport Wards and this was an issue as all Wards were experiencing
anti-social behaviour and crime, which was why a strategic policy that covered
the whole of the town was required.
Councillor
Storey also stated that it was good that the Mayor was speaking about the lack
of police officers. 500 police officers and 50 PCSOs had been lost. The Council
had lost 40% of its budget from Central Government. The Mayor needed to speak
out more about funding received from Central Government. The Mayor needed to
understand community triggers,
Councillor
Storey stated that he was pleased with the proposed developments at Tollesby
shops and he congratulated Councillor Dean with regard to all her previous work
in pushing for improvements at the site.
News about
the Helepad was pleasing.
In terms of
the Cleveland Centre, Councillor Storey stated that it was pleasing to see that
the Cleveland Centre would be brought back into use.
Councillor
Storey advised that in terms of the increase in utility bills, the Labour Party
had a policy of scrapping VAT on bills.
Councillor
Uddin referred to anti-social behaviour in the town and he stated that the
family of the children committing anti-social behaviour needed supporting. He
stated that prison was not the answer.
In response
to the comments about anti-social behaviour, the Mayor advised that prison
sentences did work as a deterrent to others. A prison sentence would take
people off the streets, it would warn others that there were consequences and
so would act as a deterrent in the future. There had been too little
enforcement in the past.
Councillor
Mawston advised that everyone should remember the Holocaust.
The
referred to the Endeavour ship that was previously located in the Cleveland
Centre.
In terms of
anti-social behaviour, he advised that he and Councillor Davison reminded
people to report anti-social behaviour and crime but many were afraid of
retributions.
The Mayor
stated that the he would be happy to discuss the Endeavour ship.
Councillor
McTigue stated that more effort needed to be made to get the perpetrators of
crime off the streets. The current Criminal Justice system needed to be
scrapped. Parents should be fined for the actions of children committing
anti-social behaviour and crime.
Councillor
Bell stated that he agreed with the comments about anti-social behaviour in
Hemlington. Parents needed to be held responsible for the actions of their
children. Detention centres needed to be brought back so that the parent and
the child who had committed anti-social behaviour would have to attend at
certain times of the day. Councillor Bell advised that the Neighbourhood Safety
Officer was working with the Police and Thirteen were working together to
tackle the issue.
Councillor
Cooke stated that the root cause of many of the causes of anti-social behaviour
was because of organised gangs. It was the leaders of these gangs that needed
to be targeted.
The Mayor
stated that the issue in Hemlington was different to that in Gresham. In
Hemlington, it was a small number of 15 to 16 year olds that were causing the
issues. If more cameras and wardens had been committed to the area four or five
years ago, the situation might not be as bad as it was at the moment.