Pioneering youth shelter helps cut toll of anti-social behaviour

A PIONEERING shelter now being used by young people in a West Yorkshire community could be rolled out across the country to help steer children away from a life of crime.

Wakefield Council has worked closely in partnership with the police to bring the new Pod Shelter to Ferrybridge Park.

The council aims to provide facilities for all age groups and the new Pod is a place that teenagers can call their own, where they can meet up and interact with each other.

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Initially the council installed a temporary shelter in the park, as a trial and so that the Neighbourhood Police could measure its impact.

When anti-social behaviour in the area reduced, the council gave its support to the installation of a new modern shelter, ensuring that it was positioned so that the police can easily see it from the road, and that it is at a distance from the children’s play area so that younger children can enjoy themselves as well.

The new £10,000 shelter, which features a Bluetooth music player, was donated by Pontefract-based play company Sutcliffe Play to help kick start the Knottingley Project Partnership.

The project is being supported by Community Pc Charlie Banks for West Yorkshire’s Knottingley and Ferrybridge areas. He said: “With 25 years experience as a community officer, I know that simple but effective community projects can significantly reduce crime and anti-social behaviour. When I first started talking to residents about creating a place for young people to congregate there was wide-spread opposition. After months of consultation with adults and children, the community agreed to a trial temporary shelter.

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“In the six months that followed, calls reporting anti-social behaviour on the estate fell by 45 per cent – I know because I went through the hundreds of call logs and compared them like for like myself.

“Since then, the vast majority of even the strongest of opposers have contacted me to say they have noticed an improvement in the community.”

He added: “The new shelter has been on site for just short of one month and there have been no calls to the park and only one call to the surrounding area regarding nuisance youths.

“I believe the installation of the Pod Shelter will have a phenomenal impact on the area for many years to come and this is just the start.”

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Pc Banks has been working with Sutcliffe Play and Knottingley based Ardagh Glass to form a partnership of private companies that will also see the installation of two multi-use games areas on the Warwick Estate and in Knottingley High School.

The area at the high school will be open access at weekends and in the evenings, and the school will also receive a Pod Shelter. Closed circuit TV will also be installed on the Ferrybridge Subway.

Pc Banks said: “The neighbourhood policing report from Play England highlighted that children’s play projects and after-school clubs have a significant role to play in preventing social exclusion by diverting children from anti-social behaviour and the consequent risk of offending.

“The Knottingley Partnership Project is well on its way to proving this, which is a benefit to both residents and businesses in the areas we are focusing on.

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“We’re in talks with the local business community to help us raise the funds for the rest of the equipment we need to bring the project to life.”

He added: “Research in 2009 highlighted that 50 per cent of parents say there are not enough places where they live for children to play safely without an adult. And 73 per cent of adults surveyed said they’d like more places where children can play independently. So the schemes we are introducing deserve some attention and, I hope, can pave the way to similar initiatives all over the UK.”