War on anti-social behaviour begins

Fed up Welshpool councillors have joined forces with the County Council and local police officers to launch the first phase of a clampdown on anti-social behaviour.

It’s not been a good year for the town to date, with frequent incidents reported in various town hotspots.

There’s also been a problem with the lead agencies not seeing eye-to-eye on a town centre booze ban, with the police not supporting a bid from the town council to have one enforced.

But a meeting was held between the parties to clear the air and begin to work together to confront the issues, and a period of information gathering will get underway soon.

“The Town Council, Dyfed Powys Police and Powys County Council are committed to working together to address the issues identified,” said a town council insider.

“This is a very important exercise and the public are urged to take part so that as much information can be gained as possible.

“A decision on what actions are to be taken forward will be made in early September.”

The Town Council will gather evidence to inform decisions to be made with regard to future policing and enforcement of any issues in the town.

A telephone line will be set up and manned by the Town Council for people to report problems, and residents can also log problems through the Tourist Information Office, a web site and via a booklet that will be delivered to every household.

There will also be a public meeting held.

All the evidence will be gathered between June 20 to July 7 with a report filed shortly after.