Glendale is to trial afternoon patrols in Manor House Gardens in a bid to combat the wave of anti-social behaviour there.
The company, which is contracted to manage the Gardens, will mount patrols between 4 pm and 6 pm for the next two weeks, and will monitor activity near the Taunton Road entrance where the worst trouble has occurred recently.
The Chair of the Friends of Manor House Gardens welcomed the move and added “If successful, we would expect this to be extended over the school holidays with additional patrol officers recruited as required.”
In the last week vandals have torn down the netting in the football/basketball court, and wrecked the lock on the tennis courts. Both are now closed to the public.
The Friends have invited Glendale and Lewisham Council to commit to a zero-tolerance policy of anti-social behaviour in the Gardens and provide the resources to stamp it out. The Friends, and Pistachios café, have both offered to help fund additional measures, if necessary.
A new petition to get CCTV installed has now attracted more than 600 signatures.
The Friends have told Glendale and the Council “We are disappointed about the slow progress of CCTV installation which has now stalled over the last 12 weeks. We understand the challenges but require both of you to commit to get this back on track in the next 2 weeks with a clear delivery timeline.”.
He is also due to meet the Police soon, when he will push for a more proactive approach to criminal behaviour in the park.
The Friends say “Although the council considers Manor House Gardens to be in an affluent area of Lewisham most of the our visitors are not. It is the poorest in our community who are impacted the most from not being able to use the park safely.”
I visited the Gardens yesterday and saw one of the Glendale staff talking with three police officers near the community garden close to Manor Lane.
A little later a woman was sitting on one of the benches in the child dedicated garden next to the childrens’ playground whilst her small dog that was not on a lead urinated on the path.
There is only one dog exclusion sign next to the upper metal gate.
Dog owners who choose to enter this part of the Gardens through the lynch gate lower down may be unaware that their dogs shouldn’t be allowed in as there is no warning sign at this location.
From my experience, during the late spring and summer months, most of the more antisocial behaviour occurs after the tennis players leave the courts and there are less more law abiding adults using the park. That is when the groups of teenagers have moved in and dominated the area.
If and when a surveillance camera is installed it might persuade the antisocially minded to either move to other parts of the Gardens where they cannot be monitored or find other locations altogether to continue their preferred activities.