CLEANSWEEP VISITS WESTBROOK AND MARGATE

Serious fire risks, dumped rubbish and truanting children are some of the problems tackled in the latest Operation Cleansweep in Westbrook and Margate.

The council-run operation also involved officers from the UK Border Agency, Kent Fire and Rescue Service, Kent Police, Kent County Council Education, Community Payback and volunteers from Pipeline Youth Group.

In total, more than 80 properties in Westbrook and Grosvenor Place, Margate were visited during the two-day operation.

In one property, fire detection equipment had to be installed immediately, as it was such a severe risk. Another eight premises were found with either inadequate or no fire detection and a series of follow-up inspections will now be carried out.

Five notices were served on properties that had so much dumped rubbish that it could encourage vermin. The owners now have 28 days to clear this or further action will be taken. Another eight complaints about dumped rubbish will also be investigated.

Truancy officers spoke to 14 children and returned one of them to school. They also found four children without school places.

One person was identified who was believed to be committing Council Tax fraud, while one property will be referred to the council’s planning enforcement team over the inappropriate use of the premise. Concerns were raised about the sale of alcohol at a licensed premise, which will now be investigated further and issues with the standard of living conditions at five homes will now be raised with landlords of those properties.

Community Payback and Pipeline cleared a total of seven alleyways in Margate and Cliftonville, while 10 tickets were handed out to cars parked on double yellow lines.

Community Safety Officer, Jessica Bailey, said: “Whenever we’re out on Cleansweep, we always find plenty of issues that need tackling and this operation was no different. From properties with no fire detection to children truanting from school, our teams had a lot to deal with over the couple of days we were out. These are all problems that we know matter to local people and that’s why it’s important that we keep doing Cleansweep to try and tackle them.”

For more information, please call 01843 577737.