Andy Burnham's plan to stop anti-social behaviour in Ashton-in-Makerfield
“It's already on my radar,” he said.
Andy Burnham says he will strengthen policing in Ashton-in-Makerfield as part of his offer to voters.
The Labour man is hoping to become the town’s new MP and says he is fully aware that anti-social behaviour is one of the key issues facing locals.
Earlier this year, the Manchester Evening News revealed that groups of teenagers have been causing chaos in the town centre. Businesses have been forced to close early, with staff and members of the public verbally assaulted, intimidated and targeted.
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Groups of as many as 50 young people have been congregating, typically on weekend evenings. Residents blame the issue on a lack of local police station and no youth centre for children and teenagers.
Now, as part of his pledge to Makerfield residents, Mr Burnham says he plans to deliver a youth centre to tackle antisocial behaviour. And he has promised to work with Greater Manchester Police to bring the force’s Operation Vulcan to the town.
Vulcan was first launched in 2022 in Cheetham Hill and Strangeways to clear the areas of the counterfeit goods trade and associated organised crime. The same specialist taskforce, alongside local neighbourhood officers and PCSO’s, were then embedded in Piccadilly Gardens to identify the root causes of existing problems and eradiate crime from the notorious spot.
Mr Burnham has suggested a similar approach for Ashton-in-Makerfield. “It's already on my radar and was before this campaign,” he said.
“I've spoken to GMP about it. I firstly would want to bring the new policing approach that we've pioneered in Greater Manchester, Operation Vulcan, to develop a Vulcan specifically to this particular issue.
“Vulcan tries to get underneath the reasons why a certain phenomenon is happening and a certain type of anti-social behaviour or crime. So if elected, I would ask Greater Manchester Police to do that.”
Mr Burnham says this is not conditional of him being elected in Makerfield, and he will be using his powers to tackle the problem if he remains mayor. “In this instance I think there's underlying reasons why this is happening and that's why you need a different approach,” he said.
“But secondly, I make a campaign commitment to you, if elected, that I will campaign for a modern youth zone for Ashton-in-Makerfield. We got the Wigan youth zone many years ago and I was involved in that.
“I was then involved in bringing the youth zone to Leigh Sports Village. I think it's really important now that we bring a youth zone to Ashton.”
