Growth of Neighbourhood Watch In Bovey Tracey

SECURITY MATTERS 

There has been a significant growth of Neighbourhood Watch (NHW) in Bovey Tracey in the past year for one reason or another. I find this particularly pleasing as it shows yet again that there is a great community spirit in the town, with people wanting to keep an eye out for each other. This enhances the feeling of wellbeing for residents and helps make our town the friendly place we all want it to be.

Where is NHW set up at present?..&&.

I include here in alphabetical order the list of neighbourhoods as at the beginning of April 2011, so that you can see whether you are in an existing scheme or one that is currently under discussion with residents. Some of these are very active, others less so, as they see fit.

Ashburton Close, Ashburton Road (top end), Avenue Road (including Private Road), Becket Road, Bonds Meadow, Bowdens Close, Brimley Cross, Brimley Lane (parts), Bullands Close, Chapple Cross, Coombe Meadow, Coombe Road (top end), Crokers Meadow, De Tracey Park (including Moorhayes), Drake Road, Fairfield Close, Forge Place, High Close, Higher Brimley, Indio Road, Kiln Close, Manaton Road (Shewte Cross), Mannings Meadow, Marsh Lane, Moor View, Newbury Drive, Old Orchard, Redwoods, Rendells Meadow, St Johns Close, St Pauls Close, St Peters Close, St Thomas Close, Station Court, The Oaks, and Wallfield Road.

New schemes and lapsed schemes..........

Discussion between residents is ongoing for Badgers Way, Sett Close, and Southbrook Road (with Atway and Southbrook Closes), while a lapsed scheme for Parkelands may be reinstated. If you live in these streets and are interested, then please discuss it with neighbours. You can get help and advice from the police and myself, including about Community Messaging and how to get started.

There are NHW signs and stickers I’ve seen elsewhere recently which indicate lapsed schemes (e.g. Bradley Road, Higher Bibbery and Kiln Road) which the neighbourhood policing team and myself would be willing to help re-establish.

What about Heathfield?.......

Good question! At some time there were NHW schemes in Musket Road (school end) and Forbes Close, so there obviously was interest, but for some reason these have lapsed.

We have tried to establish more widely whether there is any interest in NHW for Heathfield, and the police have promoted it with stalls at recent public events at the Community Centre and at the school. But so far we have drawn a blank, possibly because residents think it would involve too much of their time, especially as the vast majority commute to work elsewhere. In a way, this should generate the opposite reaction, because so many empty properties during the day can provide opportunities for burglars and opportunist thieves, and NHW is seen as a definite deterrent.

Reasons for setting up NHW schemes.........

I’ll describe two differing scenarios that indicate why new schemes have been set up recently. Perhaps you might recognise in these a similar situation to yours, where NHW would be useful.

Shewte Cross on the Manaton Road is partly in the Dartmoor National Park, and is definitely a rural part of Bovey. Reports of increased thefts from farms, stables, barns and outhouses elsewhere in the South West has led to neighbours wanting to increase awareness of potential criminal activity, and build improved communication between property owners so that levels of alertness can be maximised, and reaction to any untoward event can be speedy, targeted and co-ordinated.

De Tracey Park is a relatively new housing development in a more urban setting. I am told that when the houses were first built, everyone knew each other because of their joint activities with the developers and other authorities. Over time, houses have been sold or let, and those moving in haven’t had the same opportunities to get to know all their neighbours. An attempted break-in to a car on a drive brought this out as a problem, and NHW has been used as the vehicle for getting to know neighbours, identifying those who may be vulnerable (elderly, living alone or disabled) and who may need to be looked out for.

Through roads&&&

These are the ones where it seems to be harder to get NHW established, possibly because the busy nature of the road splits the road and reduces the community feeling. I’m thinking of places like Bradley Road, East Street, Fore Street, Moretonhampstead Road, Mary Street, Newton Road, and Station Road. If you live in one of these and would like to prove me wrong, then please make contact.

&&&&and Park Homes

There are plenty of these in Bovey, but surprisingly none are in a NHW scheme. Perhaps this is because the residents already feel secure with strong Residents Associations. I’d be interested to hear views from those of you that live in these communities.

The future of NHW........

NHW is run by volunteers supported by the police service. This is what will ensure its continuing existence in the future, Big Society or not!

If measuring police performance is to become a street-level function in future, as the Home Secretary seems to indicate, well here’s the structure already in place for that! Wherever NHW is set up, the public can build on it straight away, without the need for more quangos, consultative bodies or massive expenditure. Whether the government or powers that be would ever recognise this remains to be seen, but I believe it is certainly something worth looking.

Contact details.&&

If you feel your neighbourhood has been left out, or would like to consider starting up a scheme, then please make contact with me (details below).

I can be contacted on email at bowdens.nhw@btinternet.co, or by phone on 01626 836239, or in writing c/o Bovey Tracey Town Hall.

PCSO Paul Wilson is the neighbourhood policing contact for Bovey Tracey, and PCSO Tina Jordan for Heathfield. Both can be contacted c/o Chudleigh Police Station on 0845 2777 444.    

Other columns by Tony Allen