By Lee Trewhela of the Local Democracy Reporting Service
A special meeting has been held by a Cornish parish council to address the concerns of residents who have been plagued by antisocial behaviour by people leaving a popular beach. Locals have experienced shouting, screaming, urinating, defecating, litter and damage to their gardens.
Residents of the Carlyon Bay area, near St Austell, requested the meeting after experiencing nuisance behaviour from people leaving Crinnis beach, particularly on Friday nights when live music takes place on the sand.
A meeting was held on Wednesday, June 4, to discuss the matter, attended by members of Carlyon Parish Council, Inspector Simon Andrews, of Devon & Cornwall Police, Helen Toms, community safety officer at Safer Cornwall, and Cllr James Mustoe, Cornwall Council ward member for Mevagissey and St Austell Bay, alongside 16 residents.
The meeting heard that the bad behaviour is caused by both men and women from mixed age ranges and has been worse since the licence for entertainment on the beach was extended from 10pm to 11pm. Other nuisances not necessarily connected to the beach include speeding motorists and motorbikes doing a loop around the area every night between 9.30pm and 10.30pm.
Instances of speeding and tailgating appear to have increased since the 20mph speed limit was imposed, said residents of the Beach Road area, who were concerned at the lack of police presence.
Cllr Mustoe commented that a recent festival on the beach was well managed and there had been no issues. Ms Toms said that there had been planning meetings with CEG (the investment company behind the development of Carlyon Beach) and Coast to Coast security company prior to the event.
CEG proposes putting CCTV in the car park and on the beach and Coast to Coast has issued three banning letters to individuals prohibiting them from entering the beach. Coast to Coast are also undertaking bag checks, but currently these are only after 6pm. Residents have reported youths taking bags of alcohol onto the beach at all times of the day.
Inspector Andrews stressed that people must report every incident, stating that without evidence it is hard to justify putting resources into the area. He reported that the police have only had to deal with three incidents in the past four months.
There are currently four neighbourhood beat officers and seven police community support officers for the sector which covers a large geographical area. Additionally, there is a team of five patrol officers who deal with emergencies and are on duty 24/7.
Inspector Andrews said that the force has been given additional funding for summer policing and this will be directed to patrolling coastal areas on Friday nights.
According to the meeting’s minutes, Ms Toms explained that there is currently a massive issue with youth behaviour and the community safety team is trying to support young people by distracting and disrupting unacceptable behaviour. The meeting heard that a lot of work is going on in the background with antisocial behaviour officers and youth intervention officers.
Inspector Andrews said he would consider periodic mobile speed detection and would report back from a forthcoming stakeholder meeting. He had already asked neighbourhood beat officers to make patrols in Beach Road and Sea Road when they can.
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