Concerns about the future of the quarterly meetings of Brigg's Neighbourhood Policing Panel, held in the Angel Suite have been voiced to Brigg Town Council by Coun Tom Glossop.
Coun Glossop, who chairs the policing meetings covering Brigg and surrounding towns and villages, said at a time when Humberside Police was looking to make savings, a cost of £16 per head had been quoted for the policing get-togethers in the Angel. The suggestion he'd heard was things could be done more cheaply by contacting members of the public for their comments.
Coun Glossop said the panel meetings were very important forums. "The message I'm giving you is I am very concerned that there's a possibility these panels may not exist," he told fellow councillors at their monthly meeting.
At this stage, he stressed he was "just flagging it up" as an issue.
The policing meetings are attended by Insp Brett Rutty, senior officer for the Brigg area, and by Pete Scott, head of safer roads, North Lincolnshire Council, as traffic and highway issues often arise.
Members of the public attend from a wide area, the last meeting drawing a sizeable contingent from Croxton, where speeding traffic is an issue they want addressing.
NF adds: I attend the neighbourhood policing panel meetings at the Angel Suite. Humberside Police would be advised to leave well alone. For these public forums were actually set up across the county as a way of saving police money. Their argument was it was too costly and wasteful in manpower to send officers to a host of local parish and town council meetings every month; the quarterly policing panels were to be the forum for public debate. If the police decide to save a couple of hundred pounds every quarter in this way (hardly a fortune), it will certainly find the cost of sending officers to many parish and town councils is considerably more. If, however, the policing powers-that-be decide not to sent officers to local parish and town councils there will be very noisy protests and objections from the elected representatives of the community.
Dare I say the perception of these police liaison meetings is that they are ONLY for Brigg residents.
ReplyDeleteThere is a pervading misconception of parochialism.
In Wrawby, there is a monthly community magazine, but(and I may be mistaken), I have not seen any mention of Wrawby residents being invited to an open meeting in Brigg.
It seems that there is a lack of publicity and perhaps both Brigg TC and the police have responsibity to ensure all neighbouring residents are entitled to attend such meetings.
Perhaps, there may be a need to consider holding such meetings at different village venues, as well as Brigg.
Brigg Town Council have nothing to do with organising the policing panel meetings, Ken. They only hire out the venue. Publicity for the meetings is a matter for the police authority; they do send out posters in advance. Nothing wrong with holding meetings in other villages in the area but I think they use Brigg as it's central. I'd say more people from outside Brigg, on average, attend these meetings at the Angel than residents of the town. At the last one, half-a-dozen folk came from Croxton.
ReplyDeletePoints acknowledged, Nige.
ReplyDeleteBut - you suggest that Brigg is 'central' - central to what?
What exactly is the catchment area of Brigg & Neighbourhood?
Overall, and with the greatest respect to each, Brigg would not exist as a market town unless it attracted those from out-lying villages.
I assume, about 50 percent of Brigg's secondary school students originate from the villages.
Nevertheless, may I suggest that there is a perception, rightly, or wrongly, that Brigg wants to ring-fence some important concerns that affect a wider community. It does seem quite protective and insular.....and this, I suggest, does not always do the town, or out-lying communities justice.
Some say that Scunthorpe becomes the focus of certain events - just because NLC is based there.
There are opportunities for Brigg, as the parent town, to coordinate and sponsor aspects of other communities.
For example, does anyone in Brigg know the dates of the various village fetes; what activities occur in the village halls? Does anyone have an inventory (apart from the TI) of the various attractions - from Wrawby windmill, paint-balling at Barnetby to quad-biking at Newstead Priory?
If Brigg wants to attract visitors then it has to highlight all attractions within its catchment area.
Brigg is potentially much more, excellent as they are, than Farmers Markets, Brigg Fair and etc.
On the door-step is Brigg Garden Centre - car-loads and even coach-loads of people are by-passing the town to visit the centre - why?
Can a proportion of these punters be persuaded to visit Brigg itself and other attractions in the area.
Has anyone liaised with the management of the centre and/or coach firms to see what can be done?
Would it be worthwhile to seek opinions from the various attractions with the possibility of co-jointly advertising the numerous attractions within Brigg and its wider community to the regional public.
Perhaps Brigg is relying too much on episodic events. Where and what are the permanent attractions in Brigg? Certainly, the river is an attraction, but there is no facilty to go on it.
Brigg (and its neighbours) has to be proactive. The effects of economic recession will last for years. It is no good expecting that visitos will flow into the area without those involved doing something to stimulate a positive change.
PLEASE TREAT MY COMMENTS AS A POSITIVE CRITIQUE. THANKS
The Brigg Neighbourhood Policing meeting area includes Brigg, Broughton, Kirton, Appleby, Roxby, Messingham, Scawby, Howsham, Wrawby, Barnetby, Croxton...to name but a few.
ReplyDelete