Anyone passing along Taunton road on Friday evening – maybe taking their time to get through the Broadway EDF roadworks – will have seen a line of Police vehicles and a TV crew on some major operation. In fact it was the final act in Sedgemoors long struggle to deal with the ongoing anti social behaviour issues emanating from one household along the A38.
Sedgemoor successfully applied for a Closure Order on 40 Taunton Road, Bridgwater on Friday, June 19, 2015. The Police and SDC officers gave evidence to the Court at 1400 hrs, chronicling the 2-year history of anti-social behaviour; threatening behaviour, threats of violence towards neighbours; unsanitary conditions within the house; two previous seizures of noise equipment. Both the Council and the Police have tried to work with the occupants and neighbours to sort out the problems, but this has proved unsuccessful.
Action popular with neighbours
The Closure Order was enacted on the same day as issue to protect the neighbours from any retaliation from the occupants; to ensure the occupiers do not have any opportunity to barricade themselves in or take other action over that weekend at the house. SDC appointed bailiffs to enforce the Order, given the previous behaviour and threats by the occupants towards the neighbours, Police and Council staff.
Adrian Gardner, SDC’s Group Manager for Environment and Housing said “This is drastic action for the Council to take, but the situation has become increasingly intolerable for the neighbours.”
PC Jennie Atkinson said: “It is our role to prevent a breach of the peace while the District Council carries out the eviction. There has been a long history of community tensions due to the noise coming from the property and the poor condition of the house.Unfortunately, it has come to the stage where the council have had to issue full closure order because the house is environmentally unsafe. The occupants were offered a housing appointment prior to the eviction notice.”
The property is being boarded up and noise equipment removed. The occupants have left the property. A total of 58 items of separate music/noise related equipment such as turntables, speakers, amplifiers and TVs were seized from the property in September and December 2014. The occupants were fined £5,160 in relation to the last seizure and breach of a noise abatement notice.
A Sedgemoor spokesperson said “This operation demonstrates Sedgemoor District Council’s willingness, where appropriate, to use its full range of enforcement powers to tackle this sort of anti-social and nuisance behaviour which can seriously affect the quality of people’s lives.”