The Vine is one of the jewels in our crown in Sevenoaks. Both picturesque and a great space for residents to make use of. However, I have been deeply concerned that in recent years it has become a location for anti-social behaviour, culminating in the unacceptable scenes on the night of the Christmas lights switch-on in November 2023.
As a result of this worrying trend, Sevenoaks District Council commenced consideration of a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) for the Vine, which I and many residents wrote in support of, and I was delighted to see it bought into force in February this year.
For those of you unaware, PSPO’s are aimed at dealing with problems in a particular area which are causing nuisance or detriment to the quality of life. A PSPO imposes prohibitions or restrictions in the public place to stop people committing antisocial behaviour and breaking the order is a criminal offence.
Last week, 6 months on from its introduction, I met with Kent Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Scott, Divisional Police Commander Chief Inspector Elizabeth Jones and Inspector Stubberfield at the Vine, to hear how it has impacted incidents of crime in the area – and I was delighted at the results.
Since being implemented there has been remarkable 93% decrease in anti-social behaviour on the Vine. And, police have also carried out great work with the schools to ensure that the message is very clear; anti-social behaviour is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
This is fantastic news and I want to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to all the police officers who enforce the order and spend time speaking with local young people.
It was a shame that the Liberal Democrat district councillors did not support the Order’s implementation, a decision I hope they now regret. One of their arguments at the time was that its introduction would push problems elsewhere. I raised this point very specifically at our meeting, and was pleased to be assured by the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner that there was absolutely no evidence that this has occurred.
Since becoming your MP, I have always supported the police being given the powers they need to keep us safe from harm and anti-social behaviour. Examples of this include the legislation to deal with illegal traveller encampments and Just Stop Oil protesters, through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 and the Public Order Act 2023 (both which were heavily opposed in Parliament by the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats.)
Everyone has the right to feel safe on our streets. Antisocial behaviour is not a ‘low-level’ crime and that’s why I am determined to bring it to a stop.
