Scarborough residents invited to meeting on antisocial behaviour in South Cliff area

Residents have been invited to a public meeting at Scarborough Town Hall on Monday, December 18 at 5.30pm to discuss concerns about antisocial behaviour in the Prince of Wales Terrace and South Cliff area.

North Yorkshire Council said it has been “working closely with partners to deter poor behaviour and support the local community”.

Sir Robert Goodwill, MP for Scarborough and Whitby, called for “tough action” following complaints from “a number of constituents” over alleged incidents of “antisocial behaviour, problem drinking, drug taking, and shoplifting”.

He added: “Many residents feel unsafe and have been the subject of verbal abuse.”

Some residents have raised complaints of antisocial behaviour issues near hotels and others providing temporary accommodation services in Scarborough.

North Yorkshire Council’s assistant chief executive for local engagement, Rachel Joyce said: “These issues are not solely linked to the provision of homelessness accommodation in the area, but rather anti-social behaviour from known individuals across the town.

“As part of our various legal duties in supporting the homeless, we provide temporary accommodation across the county, as opposed to in a single location.”

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, she added: “As part of this work a public meeting has been organised for local residents to give them the opportunity to speak directly with the agencies involved, voice any concerns and hear the latest update from the council, North Yorkshire Police and Homemore.

“We hope this will be a constructive and continuing dialogue with the local community as we continue to work to address these issues.”

It was recently revealed that this year North Yorkshire Council is set to spend more than £2m on providing temporary accommodation services.

The authority’s executive member for housing, Coun Simon Myers told a meeting in November that the expenditure was “an increase of 400 per cent pre-pandemic”

A report published earlier this year by the housing charity Shelter found the Scarborough area to have the highest rate of homeless people across Yorkshire.

Sir Robert added: “Unfortunately, the meeting that I was planning to attend on Thursday evening was rescheduled to Monday when parliament is sitting but I know residents will make their concerns very clear.”

The council encouraged residents who continue to witness or experience anti-social behaviour in the area “to report this to both the police and the council, as this will greatly help us with our response.”