Another Northampton town centre alleyway closed off for good in move to combat anti-social behaviour

Another Northampton town centre alleyway was been closed off to pedestrians for good.

Francis Jetty, which is located off Bridge Street and provides a shortcut to Kingswell Street and nearby St Peters Way carpark, will now be gated 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from Friday April 14.

West Northamptonshire Council says the Jetty has attracted persistent illicit activities and anti-social behaviour such as drug dealing and sexual assault for many years.

The council ran a consultation to ask the views of the public, which took place in November and December 2022, and the results showed that 52 percent of the 43 respondents voted in favour of permanently gating Francis Jetty, and 33 percent said they had suffered anti-social behaviour at the site.

Cllr David Smith, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Engagement and Regulatory Services, said: “Over the past four years we’ve been working closely with partners to reduce anti-social behaviour and criminal activity in Northampton town centre and make it a safer place for all.

“We hope that by gating this alleyway through the PSPO, we will see a reduction in anti-social behaviour in the area and help to reduce violence against women and girls in the town centre’s Night Time economy.”

An Environmental Audit undertaken by Northamptonshire Police in 2022 found that Bridge Street accounted for nearly 20 percent of crime data for violence against women and girls in the Night Time economy between April 2017 and March 2021.

The street also has the highest number of recorded rapes and other sexual offences committed in the Night time Economy than anywhere else in West Northamptonshire and is the second highest for violent offences.

Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold, said: “I am confident that gating Francis Jetty will have an impact on crime and anti-social behaviour in this area, and create a better environment for the people who use this area at night, the residents and the businesses who invest here.

“The gating is part of our ongoing programme of work that aims to make the town centre safer for women, and ultimately for everyone who wants to enjoy an evening out in Northampton.”

The initial cost of the gates and installation will be covered from the Office of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner as part of the Safer Streets project, funded by the Home Office.

The council says access to Kingswell Street will still be available via alternative routes.

This is be Northampton’s fifth Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO), following the implementation of orders across the Town Centre area in April 2017 and at Marble Arch in January 2018, followed by Jeyes Jetty in March 2021, after a 24-year-old died after he was punched in the jetty in 2019.