Last chance for say on whether 'foul' Northampton town centre alleyway should shut for good

Jeyes Jetty, which runs between the Drapery and College Street and is between Timpsons and the former DW Sports Store, has for many years been a persistent hotspot for illicit activities and anti-social behaviour such as urinating, defecating and drug dealing.

A plan is now underway to gate the shortcut 24-hours a day - preventing the public from using it ever again.

Northampton Borough Council is accepting residents' views on the proposal as part of a consultation, which is set to close in one week (September 11).

It means shoppers and residents have until Wednesday next week to have their say on the plan.In June, the Chronicle and Echo spoke to shoppers and residents as they walked through the alleyway to ask if they supported the plan.

"It's probably a good idea," said one man. "This alley is full of dead rats and poo.

"I cut through here quite a lot but you' wouldn't want to walk down here with food.

"I don't think it would be missed, to put it that way."

If successful, the proposal would impose a Public Space Protection Order on Jeyes' Jetty and gate it off 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Ian Ross works in the Timpsons alongside the alleyway, and says he sees illicit behaviour around it every day.

In June, he said: "The shop is next door to it but you can still sometimes smell it and get flies in here.

"It's foul. So many people do drugs down there, if not weeing or defecating or worse. It's all the time."

Meanwhile, shop workers and residents from the corner of the Drapery and Gold Street use Jeyes Jetty as their fire escape - and are concerned about how they will get out the alleyway in an emergency.

It comes after a similar gate was installed on Marble Arch in the Mounts in January 2018.

Anyone who would like to share their views about gating Jeyes Jetty can take part in an online survey here.