Villagers continue to suffer over partying
PEOPLE living in a village near Burton continue to be plagued by youngsters holding “wild parties” near homes, despite the police getting involved.
Since lockdown started to ease, youngsters have been descending on Craythorne playing field, near Rolleston, and throwing parties until 3am. They leave the place in a mess, including smashing booze bottles.
Steve Mcmanus, chairman of Rolleston Parish Council, said residents were left “troubled” after the teenagers left broken bottles after drinking and allegedly taking drugs at the site, while using their car headlights to illuminate the field as they partied.
The decision was taken to close the car park and now the youths are gathering elsewhere across the village to continue the parties. Mr Mcmanus said: “It’s very frustrating and I really feel for the residents that are having to put up with it.
“Without question, closing the car park has improved it as a whole but it’s certainly still bad in many places across the village. Where they park has changed but they’re carrying out the activities as they were before.”
Mr Mcmanus said the party-goers were now parking on other nearby streets and “heading into the woods with crates full of beer”.
He said: “Instead they’re parking on Craythorne Road, which causes problems as it’s a narrow lane, and Meadow View, which is a residential street. The parties are in various other areas such as Elizabeth Avenue where we’ve always had problems.
“The police regularly patrol that area as it’s a natural gathering place for youngsters. One of my worries is that people are afraid to tell the police if they see anything but we must report it if we see this anti-social behaviour.”
Mr Mcmanus previously told the Burton Mail that the parish council made the decision to close the car park “for the foreseeable future” when between 100 and 150 people were turning up to the park to party every night, disturbing nearby residents. The anti-social behaviour resulted in an urgent meeting involving Staffordshire Police, East Staffordshire Borough
Council and Burton MP Kate Griffiths who is supporting Rolleston Parish Council over the issue. She said: “Last week I held a meeting with Rolleston Parish Council, East Staffordshire Borough Council, and the chief constable to discuss the situation at Craythorne Recreational Ground.
“The police are aware of the situation and are monitoring it closely. At the meeting the chief constable updated everyone to say they are putting additional patrols in place. In addition to this, extra signage is to be introduced and CCTV to deter individuals from the disappointing behaviour we have seen in recent weeks.
“Residents have understandably been concerned by these late-night gatherings and so I’m pleased action is being swiftly taken.”
Last year the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) set out a series of rules of thumb that people could use to help work out how much they need to save over their working life in order to achieve a certain standard of living once they hit retirement.
These then marry up with definitions of retirement living standards set out by the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (Plsa):‘minimum’, ‘moderate’ and ‘comfortable’.
The minimum living standard covers all basic needs, and then some money left over to cover for fun, whether that’s going out with friends or attending social occasions.
According to the PLSA, this would be enough to cover holidays in the UK, eating out once a month, and enjoying some simple leisure activities around twice a week.
This would equate to around £10,200 per year for a single person and £15,700 for a couple.
This is achievable through the combination of the State Pension and saving at the current 8% minimum contribution level for workplace pensions.
A moderate lifestyle offers added financial security and more flexibility.
In the examples given by the PLSA, this could include a two-week holiday in Europe and eat out a few times a month, as well as “have the opportunity to do more of the things they want to do”.
This is calculated as requiring £20,200 a year for single people and £29,100 for couples.
This is achievable based on monthly pension savings coming to around a quarter of average full-time savings.
This is worked out at being around £800 a month, and while that sounds a scarily large amount, remember that this is per household and that it includes contributions from employers as a result of workplace pensions.