Yobs force night closure of central beauty spot (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Yobs force night closure of central beauty spot

2:21pm Wednesday 19th April 2006 in Malmesbury

YOBS have forced Malmesbury Town Council into forking out funds to lock up a beauty spot in the town.

Cloister Gardens, located between Abbey House Gardens and the Bell Hotel, has suffered from problems of anti-social behaviour after nightfall.

On the advice of police, the council decided to secure the gardens.

The first step was to secure the north-west corner leading to the gardens of the Bell Hotel and the window openings in the north wall.

The council expects this to be completed within the next month.

Once that is done, the council said it would be seeking a gating order to allow the gardens to be locked during the night.

John Lawton, chair of the council's leisure and youth committee, said in his report to the annual town meeting last Thursday he was saddened the actions of a minority of people had forced them into the move.

"During the autumn, we were delighted to receive the help of more than 30 local residents to help plant 3,000 daffodil and narcissus bulbs," he said.

"The results can be seen in the garden now, though I am saddened to report that we have received numerous reports of 12 to 20-year-olds kicking and trampling the flowers with no apparent regard for the effort that was taken in planting the bulbs and the joy the flowers could bring if allowed to bloom.

"It is a shame that not everyone shows the space the respect it deserves."

Coun Lawton said once the gating order was granted they could make real progress in protecting the gardens from vandals.

He said once they had protected the gardens, they would be making full use of them for various community projects.

"Once secure, the committee plans to approach local schools and art colleges to produce a rolling programme of art installations within the gardens and for local performance groups to put on shows and concerts," he said.

Work has also been undertaken to improve the space by pruning back invasive plants, shrubs, and trees.