leek neighbourhood watch news letter

leek neighbourhood watch news letter

Good morning everyone.

This is just an up date on where we are with our local watch progress.

Street schemes.

We now have several street schemes -  set up some covering large area of Leek, some are smaller but they all do the same job :)

Signage is going up on the street schemes as we get approval from Eon to do so and each time more people join us is watching out for each other.

If you want a street scheme in your area we just need someone to say theyr will be a co-ordinator or a couple of neighbours can do it together. I am making it as easy for co ordinators as possible. i will do all the admin and setting up…. all co ordinators have to do is deliver invites and / or speak to neighbours about joining. …and then you just have to be in a couple of Whats App groups for communication. any thing over and above that is up to you whether you want to do it or not :)

If you are interested and want a preliminary chat (without any pressure) message me on 07891300866

Meetings

We are holding meetings afor members and interested residents at Moorlands house, Stockwell Street Leek every couple of months. The next one is 3rd December 6.30pm - 8.00pm. I try to keep them fairly informal but still get the business done and allow people to raise their concerns. in december we will be talking about dog fouling as one of the agenda items and what we are working on alongside SMDC.

Parking

Several parking issues were raised at our last meeting in October. Particularly access for emergency vehicles being severely restricted in some areas of town. I have written to the County Council Safer Roads Partnership and county highways to raise concerns about this and the parking situation generally. I await their response and will keep you all informed. We are also working with Leek Neighbourhood Matters in monitoring the parking and problems caused on westwood road and related to the school traffic.

Fly tipping/ antisocial behaviour/ illegal use of bikes and scooters/ knock and runs/ damage to parked cars

We are encouraging reporting of all these issues through appropriate channels and where the response is not clear or effective we will work to establish what can be done to effect change. It is coming up for xmas and i am sure many kids will be asking for electric scooters.

If you know anyone thinking of getting one please be reminded that it is illegal to ride an electric scooter in a public place. They can be confiscated without warning by the police, fines can be incurred and in some cases the owner of the scooter can be given 6 points on their licence. The use of scooters in a public place is the same offence as driving with no insurance or allowing someone to drive a vehicle you own with out insurance. spending a few hundred pounds on a scooter which is likely to be seized is not a good present :(

Joint working

We continue to build on our relationships with the town and district councils and the local policing team. As are co ordinator I meet with Dan Nettleton every couple of weeks or so to raise issues of concern and work towards building a closer relationship between police and communities. Hopefully, in the new year we will be holding joint drops ins for residents to chat to us. We also continue to work closely with SMDC to look aaat issues which affect our communities and neighbourhoods. 

Litter picking, tidying up our neighbourhoods

We really want to promote pride in our town and what it offers, litter picking mornings or general neighbourhood tidy ups are really good ways to meet each other and get kids involved in wanting to keep their surroundings pleasant. Equipment can be provided if anyone is interested in doing one and we are happy to promote dates and tiems on social media for you.

Dark evenings

The dark provides excellent cover for burglars, plus people may have purchased high value items as gifts so there are rich pickings to be had. Please keep homes and cars secure and keep valuables out of sight. report any suspicious activity to the police on 101. This is where street schemes come into their own as a Whats App group communicates things really quickly and everyone can be on the alert and hopefully get crucial evidence for the police to use.

Its also a time which is hard for the elderly and vulnerable members of our communities. If you know soemone on your street in that position please keep an eye on them as winter can further isolate them and they may need extra support.

Lastly one the issue of darkness, many kids (and some adults) are out on bikes or walking dogs in the evenings, wearing dark clothes or on bikes without lights. We really dont want accidents to happen - make sure bikes have lights, wear some reflective clothing, or wristband or something and think of reflective collars for your pets.

We wish you all a happy - stay safe and and Shaw Taylor used to say back in the olden days ‘keep em peeled’

Angie Balwako

Area Co- ordinator Leek and Staffs Moorlands