- Cheltenham’s first multi-agency anti-social behaviour networking day, jointly hosted by Cheltenham Borough Homes and Solace
- Community engagement events to help residents feel safer and understand their rights
Cheltenham Borough Homes (CBH) alongside Solace, a multi-agency partnership between Gloucestershire Constabulary, Cheltenham Borough Council and Gloucester City Council, have joined a national campaign to tackle anti-social behaviour (ASB) and keep people in Cheltenham safe.
Running from 3 to 9 July, ASB Awareness Week 2023 is organised by Resolve, the UK’s leading ASB and community safety organisation. The aim for the week is to encourage communities to take a stand against ASB and highlight the actions that can be taken by those experiencing it.
Cllr Victoria Atherstone, cabinet member for housing at Cheltenham Borough Council said: “Anti-social behaviour or ASB is not acceptable in any form and should not be tolerated. It’s extremely distressing to experience and if you’re a victim of ASB you need to know your rights.
“Anyone can be impacted by anti-social behaviour and everyone can play a role in tackling it. The Council and Cheltenham Borough Homes have measures in place to support you and we’re working with our partners and communities to prevent anti-social behaviour and protect residents from offenders. Incidents which affect Cheltenham Borough Homes customers can be reported to the CBH anti-social behaviour team, Solace or to the police if people feel that they are at immediate risk or in danger.’’
Teams are on hand to lend their support to anyone who is a victim of ASB:- CBH ASB team can be contacted online or by calling 0800 408 0000.
- Solace can be emailed solace@gloucestershire.police.uk
- Contact the Police, 101 for non-urgent calls or 999 in an emergency.
Cllr Flo Clucas cabinet member for safety and communities, continued: “We have all seen the results of anti-social behaviour (ASB). In our communities, our neighbourhoods, our schools, while walking down the road, on a bus or train, it is there.
“That's why we have come together to help people get the support they need and to prevent ASB happening.
“For the next week, we will be working together in St Peter's and St Paul's and working with Cheltenham Borough Homes to help residents feel safer and able to better access the help they need.”
Planned activities during ASB week include:
- Monday 3 July – ASB partner networking day hosted in Cheltenham by Solace and Cheltenham Borough Homes ASB team, to share best practice in the area and highlight positive work.
- Tuesday 4 July – Multi-agency engagement event in St Peters.
- Thursday 6 July – St Pauls area multi-agency engagement event. Gloucestershire Constabulary will also be at Leisure at Cheltenham 10am to 3pm for free bike security marking and advice.
Andy Wood, Cheltenham Borough Homes anti-social behaviour team leader, continued: "Everyone has the right to feel safe in their home and community. With Solace we work together with victims and communities to prevent, investigate, and tackle high risk anti-social behaviour.“We are pleased to be championing partnership working by jointly hosting the first ASB networking day with Solace. Our the aim is to bring together all partners across the county that work to tackle ASB and criminality in our communities, champion the multi-agency approach, strengthen partnerships, celebrate best practice and ultimately ensure that we are doing everything to tackle ASB and keep residents safe. ’’
Recent YouGov research commissioned by Resolve found that almost 1 in 5 people have had to consider moving home because of the impact ASB was having on them; 1 in 10 have actually moved. Despite this, over half of those surveyed who were either a victim or witness of ASB did not report the ASB.
Rebecca Bryant OBE, Chief Executive of Resolve added: “ASB is not low-level. It can have a devastating and long-lasting impact on the lives of victims and communities and can be a precursor to more serious crime.
“It is important that the challenge of ASB continues to be given the priority it needs so that people everywhere feel safe in their homes and communities.
“We are delighted that Cheltenham Borough Homes and Solace are supporting this hugely important campaign. It is vital to develop partnership approaches across communities to deal with the growing challenges around ASB.”
For more information about ASB Awareness Week – visit www.resolveuk.org.uk
For media enquiries, contact: communications, telephone 01242 264231, email communications@cheltenham.gov.uk.
Notes:
Photo: Cheltenham Borough Homes ASB team leader Andy Wood and Solace team with Katie Mellon Solace team leader.
Cheltenham Borough Homes (CBH), is the council’s top performing Arm’s Length Management Organisation (ALMO) responsible for the management and maintenance of Cheltenham Borough Council’s (CBC) housing stock and housing and homeless service. For more information visit: www.cbh.org.
Solace is a partnership between Gloucester City Council, Cheltenham Borough Council and Gloucestershire Constabulary. The multi-agency team work together with communities to prevent, investigate and tackle anti-social behaviour (ASB). The aim is to reduce repeat incidents and victims of ASB by providing a consistent partnership approach between the Constabulary and local authority alongside support agencies and other partners.
Both Cheltenham and Gloucester’s Solace team are led by a team leader and made up of one police officer and one police community support officer both seconded from Gloucestershire constabulary, along with one council ASB caseworker.
The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) supports the work of the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Gloucestershire. To find out more about anti-social behaviour and more about Anti-Social Behaviour Case Reviews visit www.gloucestershire-pcc.gov.uk/anti-social-behaviour/
About ASB Awareness Week 2023
ASB Awareness Week will run between 3 and 9 July 2023
The week of action will bring together people and organisations from across the country to take a stand and work together to make communities safer.
Organised by Resolve , ASB Awareness Week is being backed by the Home Office, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Local Government Association, National Police Chiefs’ Council and the National Fire Chiefs’ Council.
Tackling ASB and community safety is core business for all of Resolve members, including social housing providers who collectively manage more than 3 million homes throughout the UK. Other members include Local Authorities, who make up 25% of our membership, housing law solicitors, mediation services and the Police.
You can find last year’s survey report here: https://www.resolveuk.org.uk/images/YouGov_Report.pdf
The full results of our new survey, which took place in May 2023, will be published in the coming weeks.
Contact the press office on communications@cheltenham.gov.uk | 0800 408 0000