Rushcliffe
POLICE UPDATE. Rushcliffe Neighbourhood Policing Inspector Tim Cuthbert updates the community and writes:
‘Starting on a positive note, we’ve seen the first few weeks of the new youth club in East Leake which is being well attended.
‘I attended the ‘Crime & ASB Summit’ in Bingham in February, which was a great opportunity to speak to the public about ongoing concerns locally, so thanks to the Police & Crime Commissioner for supporting the event, and MP Robert Jenrick who set up the meeting.
‘I’d like to welcome Sgt Che Sands and PC Matt Wilkinson to the Neighbourhoods team at West Bridgford, with both officers bringing a wealth of policing experience to the area in support of our ongoing efforts to tackle crime and ASB, and growing our Police Officer numbers on the NPT too.
‘Our latest quarterly priorities have been formulated after discussion with our partners at Rushcliffe Borough Council, and they are as follows;
– Theft of bikes & motorbikes in the Rushcliffe North area – Shop theft
– Car Cruising around Ratcliffe on Soar
‘Theft of bikes and motorbikes has risen slightly this last quarter, and I want to reassure people we’re taking additional measures to prevent and detect these offences.
‘I’d encourage you to consider attending one of our regular bike marking events, and we’ll be working with businesses around hot spots, whilst also conducting patrols in areas where offences are happening.
“Only this week, officers from our Op Reacher team recovered four stolen motorbikes at an address, and working with colleagues from response and NPT, they detained 3 people who are now on Police bail pending enquiries.”
“Car Cruising has risen slightly in recent weeks, and we’ll be working with colleagues in Notts County Council and Rushcliffe Borough Council to find long-term solutions to this persistently anti-social practice.”
The officer ends by saying as ever, I’d encourage you to report offences where you believe them to have occurred, and together we can keep Rushcliffe a fantastic place to live, work, and visit.’
ROAD CONCNERNS. Roads in England and Wales are at ‘breaking point’ according to the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA) due to potholes.
The AIA Alarm Survey has found that more than half of the local road network in England and Wales could fail in the next 15 years as the amount needed to fix the backlog of repairs reaches a record high of £16.3 billion.
Further analysis of the data found that local authorities are expected to fix more than two million potholes in the current financial year.
This is an increase of 43% compared to the previous 12 months.
It is also the highest total since 2015-16 – where around 2.2 million potholes were fixed in England and Wales.
Currently, only 47% of local roads are in ‘good structural condition’ and over 107,000 miles of local roads have less than 15 years’ structural life left in them.
Rick Green, Chair of the Asphalt Industry Alliance, which commissions the ALARM survey, said: “Local authorities have a bit more money to spend this year but the impact of rising costs due to inflation means they have actually been able to do less with it.
“Couple this with the effects of the extreme weather we are increasingly facing, and the result is that the rate at which local roads are suffering is accelerating towards breaking point.
“There’s still a mountain to climb when it comes to fixing our local roads and while it’s great that English local authorities should be getting more money from the Government through its Network North funding, it’s clearly not going to be enough to halt the decline.”