A police and council led operation to clamp down on drug dealing and anti-social behaviour in four west Leeds high-rise blocks has led to two flats being closed.
This follows work undertaken by the Leeds Anti-Social Behaviour Team (LASBT), West Yorkshire Police and Housing Leeds to tackle both drug dealers and drug users, who were using certain flats along with other areas of Wortley Heights, Wortley Towers, Clyde Grange and Clyde Court as an unofficial base for their activities.Their action follows complaints by local residents.Issues reported includedDrug use in stairwells and chute rooms Regularly leaving behind drug taking apparatus including foil, spoons and blood stained wipes Stairs also had to be cleared of both excrement and urine on a regular basis
A Closure Order was approved at Leeds Magistrates Court for 89 Wortley Heights on 16 April 2015. This order meant that the tenants had to leave the property within a certain timescale and no other person or persons other than those specified by the court will be able to enter the property. If breached, this carries a penalty of either imprisonment for a period of up to six months, an unlimited fine, or both. A similar order was made for 68 Clyde Grange.
Any residents suffering from excessive and/or intrusive anti-social behaviour can get in touch with LASBT; to report in the daytime call 0113 222 4402 or out of hours on 0113 3950143 (between 6pm and 4am).
Councillor Mark Dobson, Leeds City Council’s executive board member with responsibility for Safer Leeds, said:
“Nobody in our city should have to suffer in silence because of anti-social behaviour, and it is positive news that through the detailed evidence compiled by LASBT, we have been able to take action against those people who were making the lives of residents at these four high-rise blocks in west Leeds a misery.”
Superintendent Sam Millar, who heads Safer Leeds, said:
“The quality of life of local residents was being really badly affected by some appalling incidents of anti-social behaviour linked to these flats.
“We will continue to monitor the situation in this area and take appropriate action to make sure these issues are not just displaced elsewhere.”
