Lots of fun at community safety day

Hundreds of people turned out to enjoy the sun at a community safety day in Walton.


Visitors got the chance to meet the Essex Police Marine Unit, find out more about Neighbourhood Watch and around 20 people had a free health check from the NHS.

Young people played in a five-a-side tournament and over 30 budding artists took part in a graffiti competition at the event on August 9.

Clean-up teams also performed a sweep of the town, picking up litter and scrubbing grafitti from walls. Seven fridges, two sofas and 20 bin bags of rubbish were removed from Mill Lane by Veolia

Environmental Services. More incidents of fly-tipping were dealt with in Spendells Close and North Street.

The event, held at Bath House Meadow, Princes Esplanade, was organised by Tendring’s Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP).
Leanne Thornton, community safety manager for Tendring District Council, said: “It was a terrific day and the weather was perfect.

The aim was to try and highlight some of the services on offer in the district and give people an opportunity to talk to representatives from the different agencies face-to-face.

“The graffiti competition was a perfect way to let young people try out their creative talents. It also gave us the opportunity to speak to them about the affect graffiti has on the rest of the community.”

A team of door knockers visited 150 residents with a questionnaire which aimed to find if they had any concerns about the area.

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service visited 70 of these homes and found 20 residents without working smoke alarms. They will return on a later date to fit working alarms, including two ‘sensory’ alarms for those with impaired hearing.

Essex Probation’s Community Payback Team cleared an overgrown alleyway at Alfred Terrace and Vicarage Lane. They also cut back overgrown foliage at the town’s skate park in Old Hall Lane, where they were joined by Tendring District Council’s Leisure Services who repaired a fence which had been vandalised. Both issues were identified during a visual audit of the area carried out by a team from the CDRP, which included the local Neighbourhood Policing Team, the Fire Service and the chair of Walton’s Neighbourhood Action Panel.

Essex County Council’s Trading Standards offered advice about rogue traders and bogus businesses, while the local coastguard spoke to visitors about seaside safety. Essex Young People Drug and Alcohol Service (EYPDAS) spoke to around 30 people at the event about the risks associated with dangerous substances and Tendring District Council Housing Officers visited around 60 of their properties to find out about any ongoing issues.

The winners of the graffiti competition were Hannah Kantor and Seb Gardiner and a team called ‘Man U’ – made up of a group of young boys from the town – won the football tournament.

The organisers are grateful to B&Q, who kindly provided cans of spray paint for the graffiti competition.