Wigan residents' fury over rowdy yobs in neighbouring parkland

Householders in the Marylebone area say they have been dogged by anti-social behaviour since last summer with Haigh Woodland Park plantations being the focal point of the trouble from youths.

They say complaints have so far fallen on deaf ears but the council says the issues have only just come to notice and it will now investigate further.

One resident said: “This started during the summer of lockdown last year and it happens every time there’s a sunny day.

“It started off with a group the size of seven or eight youths and at its peak last summer there were between 20 and 30 of them and they are there all day into the evening and they are screaming and shouting.”

The householder, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of repercussions, added: ”There is no way we can sit in our garden in peace.”

Another neighbour added: “This is absolutely disgusting, I feel intimidated and won’t walk here at certain times.”

The first resident expressed concerns over the impact of this anti-social behaviour on the surrounding wildlife of the plantation gardens: “The area is just a mud bath - we used to get deer in the fields and now we see very little of them.”

She said she remained frustrated by a local authority lack of effective action, adding: “The amount of emails I sent to the council is untrue. I contacted Coun Michael McLoughlin and he said he had passed on to the council and a member of staff said it would be ‘put on the system’ but he said that he had already done that himself.

“But either way nothing has happened of note since, even if Coun McLoughlin acknowleded the upset being caused.

“I have rung the police and the police have told me they are aware of the situation and it is being monitored, but I don’t want to put any blame on the police at all because I don’t think it’s their problem.

“The council needs to sort this area out either by getting their wardens to patrol it or they need to put some kind of fencing up. They need to do something.

“They’re doing other work in the plantations, but nothing with this area and the council just seems to ignore me.

“This bottom end of the plantations is a completely forgotten area.

“If the council had done something last year, I wouldn’t have taken this step.”

A town hall spokesperson said: “Wigan Council were only made aware of issues in this area very recently and have received no other reports of anti-social behaviour at this location. Upon receipt of the enquiry, contact was made with the resident during which the issues were discussed and advice provided.

“Officers have linked in with colleagues from Greater Manchester Police to ensure this location is included on patrol plans, but the police also report they have not received any complaints of this nature in this area. Residents are encouraged to report any issues to police on 101 (999 in the case of an emergency) or via the online reporting system at https://www.gmp.police.uk/ro/report/asb/asb/report-antisocial-behaviour/ .

“This is particularly important to ensure that incidents can be responded to appropriately and that adequate policing resource can be allocated to the location.”

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