Local authorities ‘don’t care about our village’
RESIDENTS OF MIXENDEN HAVE MIXED FEELINGS ABOUT THEIR AREA
JAMIE Leslie admits petty crime is a problem in Mixenden but says he would only ever leave for somewhere resembling ‘paradise.’
The village near Halifax hit the headlines last week as First West Yorkshire boycotted the routes, refusing to send its buses to the area after youths pelted one of its vehicles with bricks, smashing a window.
Jamie, who has lived in Mixenden all his life, was recently the victim of a crime himself as a drill was stolen from his car overnight.
But he feels residents’ ‘temper’ comes from a lack of care on behalf of the local authorities.
Speaking to The Examiner outside his home, which backs onto the busy Clough Lane, the 45-year-old said: “The area is definitely neglected.
“We have a community centre down the road and the kids who live around here have to watch bus-loads of children come from other areas.
“They get all the canoes and mountain bikes out for them, but when our kids go anywhere near it they are chased off. I think it is a profitmaking thing.”
Jamie recalled an old pub which once sat in the middle of the village. He described it as ‘a bit rough’ and admitted police were frequently called to deal with rowdy drinkers. But he said the village fell victim to a huge drug problem when it was knocked down.
He said heroin use ‘went off like a bomb’ in the community and affected many families.
“Now it is more crack cocaine,” he added. However, the dad-of-four said there was plenty of things to be proud of in the village, including how the community has ‘rallied’ following a devastating fire at Ash Green Primary School in February.
“This is my favourite place and I would only ever leave for paradise,” he said. “I try and watch over everyone.”
But one man, who did not want to be named, painted a more sinister picture of Mixenden.
The 75-year-old said crime is a big problem in the area and warned: “You can’t look at anybody.”
“All kinds of things go on,” said the resident, who has lived in and around the village for 30 years. “My shed door was ripped off as soon as I bought this house. A home has just emptied around the corner and its fence has already been stolen.”
The worried resident bemoaned a lack of police action.
“The police do nothing. You never see them around.” The Examiner did notice two PCSOs patrolling an estate in the village on Thursday (May 12) morning.
Asked if he was worried, the man pointed to the security cameras facing towards the path leading up to his home.
“Bikes go up and down this road non-stop and cars get pinched but you can’t do anything about it,” he said.
Carol, who did not want to give her surname, has lived in Mixenden all her life and says she has no issues with the area.
She added she reads about incidents of crime in the news but never sees anything herself.
“Mixenden has always had a bad reputation because people, who have never lived here, pull it down,” she said.
“The community is a good one. They all look out for each other.”
On the issue of petty crime, she said: “You can’t watch your kids 24/7. I have brought three kids up around here, but I did not know where they were half the time when they went out as teenagers.
“A lot of people say it is the parents’ fault, but it is not.”
A home has just emptied around the corner and the fence has already been stolen Local resident