On Tuesday 18 January, Coventry county court ordered a council
tenant to vacate her home by 15 February because of the nuisance and
anti-social behaviour cased to local residents by her and her teenage
sons aged fourteen and fifteen.
The legal action was taken by the council because of the effect on
the local community of a catalogue of incidents perpetrated since
1997, which include:
- Harassment and intimidation
- Burglary and theft
- Assault
- Stone throwing
- Verbal abuse and threats
- Riding of motor cycle on paved and grassed areas
Councillor
Peter Lacy, Chair of the councils housing policy team said:
"Seeking a family’s eviction is a course of action we take
reluctantly but will not shy away from. The community of Ernsford
Grange has suffered terribly because of the behaviour of these two
teenagers.
"I welcome and fully support the judge’s comments and
decision. I am convinced that this action will go a long way to
restoring peace in the area and I would pay tribute to the
co-operation we received from local residents and the police,
without whom this action would not have been possible."
He added:
"The court’s decision will offer hope to the vast majority
of decent residents living in Coventry who are plagued by
anti-social behaviour. It should also be seen as a warning to those
who seek to disrupt the peace of others that they will also risk
losing their homes if they continue behaving in an unacceptable
manner."
Superintendent Mark Sheasby said:
"The family is well know to local officers as responsible
for causing serious nuisance in the Ernsford Grange area. The
decision has helped us to make a difference to the quality of life
for residents on this estate. It has only been possible because of
the Safer Estates Partnership we enjoy with the council’s housing
services."
In making the Order for Possession, the judge commented that the
evidence demonstrated that the family’s behaviour had caused people
to move out of the area and others to live in fear. He said he was
satisfied that the effects suffered by local people because of that
behaviour far out weighed the effects on the family, of his decision
to order that they vacate the property.
