Ratcliffe on Soar
POLICE WARNING. Police in Rushcliffe have issued a warning to people who meet for a car cruise in the area that they will be prosecuted if they drive dangerously or aggressively.
The force have already had need to place dispersal orders at East Midlands Parkway and Ratcliffe-on-Soar and will continue to so elsewhere if the need arises.
Additional officers and resources will step up high visibility patrols in the area over the course of weekends to target people who break the law and will take positive action around road use and Covid-19 breaches.
The move follows two large gatherings last month, with hundreds of car enthusiasts meeting up at the East Midlands Parkway railway station - with some drivers seen to be driving dangerously and at high speeds through nearby roads.
A dispersal order was put in place aimed at tackling antisocial driving.
The force, in partnership with Rushcliffe Borough Council and British Transport Police are supporting on going work to tackle future issues.
Network Rail have also agreed to restrict the railway station car parks to customers and staff only on Saturday and Sunday.
Rushcliffe Neighbourhood Inspector Craig Berry said: “We won’t accept dangerous driving in Rushcliffe and we are taking these car meetings very seriously.
“We know this is an issue which matters to our community and we have done a lot of proactive work around it in response to that feedback the past fortnight.
“I completely understand how frustrating it can be to be bothered by noise or other issues related to this type of antisocial behaviour.
“That is why we have an ongoing operation to tackle such issues across Nottinghamshire, which sees officers regularly patrolling known hotspot areas, engaging with drivers and where necessary taking enforcement action.
“We will be putting more officers and resources into dealing with such events in the coming weeks and months to target people who break the law.
“We will be working with partners and the local authority on a number of activities this weekend to ensure that our roads are safe. This includes restricting access to the East Midlands Parkway site unless being used by customers and staff.
“While we can of course understand people’s desire to want to be out with friends again, the government and our health colleagues remain cautious.
“We would like to remind people that we are not totally out of lockdown measures and Covid-19 still remains a threat.
“These meet-ups become a problem for us when people drive those vehicles in a way that puts other road users, and themselves, at risk of serious injury or death.”
The force is concerned about regular gatherings in and around the A453.
In response Nottinghamshire Police issued a Section 34 Dispersal Order to allow officers to order people out of the area without having to arrest them.
Inspector Berry said they had placed a dispersal order in the area to provide officers with extra powers to deal with those breaking the law and causing antisocial behaviour.
“The authority enables us to seize vehicles as well as ban people from the area for a period of time if they are causing or are likely to cause any issues.
“We have issued tickets on various occasions in the past and we will continue to do so where appropriate.
“We are working with organisers, the local authority and other partners to make these events as safe and crime-free as possible.
“I would like to reassure the community that we understand of the impact of these issues and we will continue to work with our partners to do everything within our power to tackle them.”
Rushcliffe Borough Council’s Executive Manager for Neighbourhoods Dave Banks said: “We are working in partnership with police to seek a longer term solution to deter these events taking place.
“We will continue to assess all measures we can take to halt these instances of irresponsible and dangerous driving witnessed recently, to protect the local community and environment.”
If anyone has information following previous car meetings which could help with police enquiries, please contact them by calling 101 with any CCTV or dash-cam footage.