Council leader faces criticism over Safe Street Team value for money
The Rotherham Council leader clashed with a Conservative councillor over money used to tackle anti-social behaviour with a Safe Street Team.
On Wednesday, July 1 at a scrutiny meeting, councillors were joined by the leader of the council, Chris Read, for a question-and-answer session.
Conservative Councillor Joshua Bacon highlighted his concerns about whether residents were reaping the benefits of the money spent on Street Safe Team.
The Street Safe Team was introduced by the council with £570,000 funding to tackle anti-social behaviour in high streets, and support police while acting as a visible presence.
Patrols began in November 2025 across Rotherham, Wath, Swinton, Dinnington and Maltby.
Officers in the team have powers to enforce Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs), to tackle anti-social issues such as street drinking, substance misuse, and nuisance parking.
A progress report showed that the officers had delivered 50 enforcement interventions, including formal warnings, Fixed Penalty Notices and statutory notices.
They had also assisted police arrests for drug offences, and had helped to escalate a high-risk domestic abuse case to relevant support service intervention.
Coun Bacon said: “I’ve always questioned that if we are going to have this team, why are they solely allocated to principal towns. I think if you’re going to have them, you’d surely have them go further in other areas.
“A lot of these villages that are outside of the principal towns are feeling left behind. What would be your message to those villagers who are seeing no benefit to their council tax in this regard?”
Coun Read responded: “I am conscious that there are other high streets, like Parkgate for example, where we might want to make bigger investments because its a main shopping parade.
“If in the future we have more resources and we’re able to roll that out more widely, then I’m absolutely open to a conversation about that, whether that rolls into places like Todwick or elsewhere,” he added.
“I think it’s right that when we’re dealing with a limited amount of money, we prioritise it on the things that most residents have told us is their priority.”
Rotherham Council have been contacted for a statement.