Anti-social Behaviour Awareness Week 19 - 25 July 2021
Mid Devon District Council take antisocial behaviour very seriously and will work with residents to help resolve the issues where at all possible.
Many of the departments within the Council work closely together to help reduce complaints from members of our community however on occasions we are unable to do this without support from other organisations such as the police, Devon County Council and health services. We work closely with these organisations and the complainants to seek a solution to the issues.
Mediation resolves issues between neighbours
At every opportunity, we encourage residents to participate in Mediation to help them to resolve their neighbour dispute. The services of mediation has been beneficial for residents to find a mutual acceptable way forward to resolve their differences. It gives all parties the opportunity to discuss their concerns and find an agreed solution to resolve the dispute. This services is free to our tenants, those who have had to involve the police in the dispute, or those reporting antisocial behaviour.
Devon Mediation Service is based in Mid Devon and offers mediation for a wide range of problems which include: noise, boundary disputes, parking, pets, issues relating to sharing communal space, rubbish, gossip, privacy issues, harassment, garden maintenance etc.
Neighbourhood Agreements
The Council has, during the last year, set up Neighbourhood Agreements to resolve neighbour disputes. Neighbourhood Agreements are informal agreements between residents to find a solution to resolving their differences. The Neighbourhood Agreement has been a successful tool to deal with low level anti-social behaviour and nuisance.
The Council has worked in partnership with the Police and the Community Safety Partnership and have successfully resolved disputes. Compliance by neighbours shows the willingness to resolve the issues amicably. Failure to comply can be considered for use as evidence should the case escalate and further Council intervention is required. This could include action via the courts.
Taking Legal Action when it matters
When required the Council will take legal action to reduce antisocial behaviour.
In the last year the Council obtained a civil injunction with a power of arrest against a resident of Mid Devon for anti-social behaviour. The resident engaged in conduct that lead to behaviour causing nuisance and annoyance.
The injunction was obtained to offer effective protection for victims and the community and to stop the residents behaviour impacting on people’s lives and escalating further. The Civil injunction with the power of arrest will be in place until June 2022.
Covid-19 Compliance
Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Council has been working with other organisations and communities to ensure that residents stay safe. With the lifting of restrictions our Licensing and Environmental Health Teams have been working with local businesses and licenced premises to offer advice and support to keep their businesses operating safely. With the imminent lifting of many, if not all, social restrictions we will continue to work with local businesses to ensure that they safely manage the returning customers to our town centres and business premises following a period of restricted movement.
Making Complaints About Antisocial Behaviour
If you are experiencing anti-social behaviour in your neighbourhood, or from your neighbours, and you are unable to resolve this yourself, then you can report this to the council. Information about how to complain are on our website where there is advice about what sort of thing we can help with. Unfortunately we cannot get involved with boundary disputes and civil matters. For these you will need to seek independent legal advice.
More serious issues such as threats, criminal damage, intimidation or harassment these are matters for the police and can be reported to them via 101 on either telephone or their webpages. If you are experiencing issues that are happening right now and feel threatened then dial 999 for immediate support.