Saturday, 6 September 2008
A Gating Order gives a Local Authority the power to Gate a public highway, such as an alley, where there is evidence of crime and anti-social behaviour linked to the alley, and that the alley is facilitating anti-social behaviour.
This power came into practice in April 2007, however, in Doncaster we had installed a number of alleygates using Traffic Regulation Orders, before this new legislation was passed.
Over 200 alleygates are already in place in Doncaster, and they have made a significant contribution to helping to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour.
If the Council wishes to gate a public highway it must first obtain a Gating Order. This requires evidence to be presented on the crime and anti-social behaviour. The process includes a 28 day period of public consultation during which representations can be made.
If there are no objections, the Gating Order is made at the end of this period. If there are objections then these are considered and a decision made as to whether the Gating Order should be made, taking into account all of the evidence.
The council has made a number of Gating Orders since April 2007, and details of these are below. There are currently no other plans for alley gates to be installed apart from those listed here. Should any new applications be proposed they will be added to this page.
If you are experiencing problems of crime and anti-social behaviour relating to an alley, then your first step should be to bring it to the attention of the Safer Neighbourhood Team for your area. They will decide what action is appropriate to tackle the issues.
Although gates may well be an appropriate solution, they are also an expensive one, and before any application for a Gating Order is made, funding must be identified to cover the cost of the legal process and the installation and maintenance of the gates.
