Failure to deal with antisocial behaviour could land another blow to levelling up - The Yorkshire Post says

A new report from think tank Onward suggests that antisocial behaviour is the biggest barrier to levelling up local areas. Another concern in these ‘left behind’ communities is bringing life back into high streets and town centres.

The impact of online shopping on traditional retail is widely known. Therefore, high streets and town centres cannot be allowed to become more unwelcoming places to visit as a result of antisocial behaviour, particularly among young people.

The way to tackle this is, first of all, ensuring young people are given personal development opportunities. That is why there needs to be a renewed focus on ensuring that Levelling Up funding provides amenities such as sports facilities and youth clubs.

By providing access to playing fields and sports clubs, you take young people off the streets. For too long the importance of facilities for young people have been overlooked. It isn’t a waste of money.

The Prime Minister’s comments last year, during the Tory party leadership race, when he said “we inherited a bunch of formulas from Labour that shoved all the funding into deprived urban areas and that needed to be undone”, were ill-judged.

But alongside prevention, there also needs to be a deterrent in the form of a well-resourced, visible police force. Recent research suggesting that nearly one in five police officers plan to quit within the next two years amid low morale and dissatisfaction over pay is therefore a cause for concern.

Failure to deal with antisocial behaviour could land another blow to levelling up.