Newark and Sherwood District Council calls for witnesses to come forward after the appalling vandalism of Grove Street Play Park

Councillor Paul Taylor, Portfolio Holder for Cleaner, Safer, Greener at Newark and Sherwood District Council, said: “I was appalled when I was told the news that a play park, intended for our young children, had been vandalised to the point where it has had to now be closed until it is repaired.  Mindless vandalism such as this is completely and utterly unacceptable.  We will not tolerate these selfish acts and I am incredibly shocked and disheartened by this specific attack of anti-social behaviour at a children’s play park.

“Someone must know who did this and I implore you to please step forward, do the right thing, and tell the Police.  We, and the Police, can do so much when it comes to tackling anti-social behaviour and believe me we will not stop trying, but we need to come together as a district and do all we can to stop the perpetrators of these anti-social crimes and ensure they are brought to justice.  

“We work hard to maintain and constantly improve our parks and green spaces in the district but in the last two years our environmental services team have spent thousands of pounds on repairs following cases of vandalism and this is a complete waste of resource and money. For anyone to vandalise a place that is meant to be enjoyed by our children and young people, particularly during this spate of warm weather and during a cost-of-living crisis, is outrageous.

“So please, if you know anything about this incident please report it to the Police immediately.  You can do this by calling 101.  You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously to report, and provide information on, any anti-social behaviour and they will pass the information on to the Police on your behalf.”

Due to the extent of the vandalism, the park will be closed until further notice while officers complete investigations and spend time repairing the damage.

Newark and Sherwood District Council works with partners from Nottinghamshire Police and the Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner on a number of initiatives to help reduce anti-social behaviour (ASB) in the district and together work hard to make sure offenders are punished according to the law. In recurring or more serious cases, this includes serving injunctions and criminal behaviour orders in order to protect our communities. Other initiatives include the Safer Streets project to deliver security measures such as gating, lighting and CCTV cameras that help deter ASB. Over £1 million has been invested towards a safer Newark and Sherwood from this scheme to date. The District Council also works closely with its partners to hold safety consultation events with residents, nights of action in hotspot areas, as well as safety events and school talks to educate young children via early intervention methods. The visibility of the District Council Community Protection Officers (CPOs) has also been recently strengthened by revisiting planned locations and times of their patrols. To protect its own staff, the ‘No Excuse for Abuse’ campaign was launched in a bid to reduce abusive behaviour towards staff following 59 violent incidents being recorded during 2021 and 2022.

The District Council is keen to encourage anyone with any concerns or issues about anti-social behaviour to report them. More information can be found on its website: Anti social behaviour.