‘Plea’ for tougher anti-social behaviour rules in Bettws

Cllr Kevin Whitehead said bad behaviour had “escalated” recently, and warned people are too afraid to report incidents because of the “ramifications and the comebacks” from the culprits.

He said residents and councillors had asked for the area around Bettws Shopping Centre and Tone Close to be issued a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO).

This would outlaw certain behaviour, and give officers more powers to move along troublemakers and issue fines for breaches.

But Cllr Whitehead said the community was told it “didn’t qualify” for a PSPO and suggested “a lot of it was down to the ages of the children involved”.

Speaking at a Newport City Council meeting, on Tuesday November 26, he said: “Since then, we’ve had a lull in the storm but now it’s escalated again.

“Even this morning, one of the shopkeepers couldn’t open their shop because of the damage that was caused to one of the shutters there,” he told the meeting. “These people are not reporting it because they’re scared of the ramifications and the comebacks, which saddens me really.”

Cllr Whitehead called on the city council leader, Cllr Dimitri Batrouni, to ask officers to “re-engage with the police and revisit the discussion around our original plea for that PSPO”.

Cllr Batrouni agreed, adding: “Bettws residents deserve to be protected – they shouldn’t live in fear, and we must tackle anti-social behaviour wherever it rears its head.”

The city council recently renewed three PSPOs for other parts of Newport – in the city centre, Maesglas and Pill.

They grant council officers powers to tackle anti-social behaviour, especially around issues such as street drinking, the illegal use of e-scooters and any actions deemed likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress.

Offenders can be moved along from the PSPO area, or issued with on-the-spot fines for some offences.

More serious breaches of an order could mean a magistrates’ court appearance and the prospect of a much higher fine.