Opening time petition launched

A petition against planned cuts to Bath’s police service has been launched by a man who thinks the city has been “unfairly targeted”. Simon Jupp, pictured at the Manvers Street office, was shocked when he heard that the police enquiry desk was to have its opening time cut by 44 hours a week. Mr Jupp, who regularly works in Bath and is considering moving to the city, said: “I couldn’t believe it when I saw they were reducing the opening hours so I thought I’d do something about it.” The 32-year-old Bristol resident said: “Every time I go to Bath I realise how many tourists are there and there’s nearly 90,000 residents. “The police enquiry desk is a way to contact police that’s very real and very relatable. If you’ve been a victim of crime, you don’t want to ring a number or go online, you want to speak to a real person. “The cuts could leave tourists and residents, especially older people, feeling pretty vulnerable.” Mr Jupp pointed out that, although Bristol has suffered cuts to its centres, it has one “every couple of miles” or so. “Whereas in Bath, that’s it,” he said. “And it’s a heritage city, arguably the main tourist destination in the South West. A 44-hour-a-week reduction is just ridiculous. Bath seems unfairly targeted.” Mr Jupp’s petition to the Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner seeks to keep Bath’s enquiry office open at weekends. His petition, hosted by change.org, reads: “Bath’s dedicated police station closed in 2015 and the enquiry desk inside the One Stop Shop in Manvers Street is a crucial dedicated service to protect, inform and reassure residents and visitors to the city. “The new opening hours from September cut the service by 20 hours during the week and close the service entirely at the weekend. It will see the enquiry desk open between 10am– 6pm on weekdays only. Currently, the service is available 8am–8pm, seven days a week.”