Police say closing reservoir path could end ‘trespass and nuisance’
POLICE say a Derbyshire reservoir path should be closed to quash “unwanted trespass and nuisance”.
Councillors debated plans relating to a path that runs alongside a short section of the north-western side of Staunton Harold Reservoir at a South Derbyshire District Council meeting on Tuesday.
The path, close to the sailing club, has been closed since the start of the pandemic after an order from reservoir owner Severn Trent in line with Government restrictions. Councillors, after a complex debate, allowed the path to be closed, or open at the owner’s discretion, instead of forcing it to remain open at all times.
Howard and Jo Joynes, who live at Broadstone Holt, off Bog Lane, say the path has led to anti-social behaviour. The route through their land is permissive, meaning it is only accessible by goodwill of the landowner. It is not a formal public right of way.
The council approved plans in 2014 for a house to be built on the site, which the couple moved into in 2016. As a condition, the council said the path had to be retained but
moved to another route. It now admits this overreached its legal limit, which would have turned the route into a public right of way.
Steffan Saunders, head of planning, said the condition was unreasonable and unenforceable and backed the plan to scrap it. This would mean the landowner would be able to close and open it.
Mr and Mrs Joynes said they would reopen the route once ways to manage access and reduce antisocial behaviour had been agreed.
Statements from Keith Beswick, of Derbyshire police, say: “Anti-social gatherings and behaviour in various forms have been a problem at the Staunton Harold Reservoir, both prior to and during lockdown restrictions.
“Incidents have been slightly higher at the nearby Foremark Reservoir and, as a result of this, there are plans for access restrictions to the Foremark site which will potentially increase incidents at Staunton Harold in the future. In our combined opinion the closure of the permissive path will assist in reducing unwanted trespass and nuisance around the Staunton Harold reservoir and Broadstone Holt woodland.”
He referred to an April 2021 Facebook post from Melbourne police in which officers were called to break up a party of dozens of underage drinkers at the reservoir, “resembling a mini Glastonbury”.
Officers contacted their parents, many of whom are said to have dropped their children off at the site and then complained their evenings had been ruined because they had had to go and collect them.
Mr Beswick also attached a summary of the police log for incidents at Staunton Harold Reservoir. This included 13 incidents from February 26, 2020 to December 23, 2021 and involved boats at the sailing club being untied and set loose and damaged and gatherings of young people drinking – with 40-plus dispersed from a party on October 31, 2020.
Matt Lee, 64, a Melbourne resident who frequently walks the path, said: “People are very upset that the path has been closed. They are making a big deal about anti-social behaviour, but that has nothing to do with the footpath. It (the antisocial behaviour) is at the sailing club (not on the path), it is just so frustrating.”
Mr Lee, a member of the Melbourne Footpaths Group, told the meeting an agreement had been made with the National Forest Company to allow public access to the site, but this was being unfairly restricted.
Philip Tuckwell, agent for the applicant said: “There is no plan to permanently close the path. The condition is unlawful, unreasonable and unenforceable which seeks to make a permissive path permanent in nature.”
A statement read out from the Melbourne Footpaths Group said: “We have no confidence that the applicant will reopen the path if the condition is removed.”
Mr Joynes said after the meeting he was relieved about the decision. He said: “We have terrible, criminal anti-social behaviour and the only reason the site has been closed is because of the pandemic. It is our top priority to reopen the path as soon as possible. The anti-social behaviour started when the site was closed due to the pandemic, but we had two gates smashed last week. We are old and retired and we don’t want to be terrorised by youths at 11pm.”