A Ramsgate café boss has spoken out about the nightmare of drunks, fights and criminal damage in Harbour Street on Thursday nights,
Mark Kenneally is joint owner of The Daily Grind with Julie Young and his partner Lauren Ryan is manager.
They took over the popular café seven weeks ago but have had their windows smashed twice in that time, most recently in the early hours of Friday (December 7).
Mark, 35, said: “There has been so much trouble, I have been on the phone to police about 13 and 14-year-olds jumping along the roof of the bank, you get people screaming and fighting on Thirsty Thursdays and then windows get broken.
“I called the police about 13 and 14-year-olds jumping across the bank roof and they said they had no-one in the area.
“Then our window was smashed through and on the CCTV you can see the guy in our café covered in blood.”
The latest vandalism will cost The Daily Grind £1,000 just to repair the glass and the frame. The sign-writing will need to be replaced on top of that.
A plan put shutters up to protect the premises has been vetoed until planning permission is applied for and granted.
Mark, who with partner Lauren has three children, said the trouble is close to driving people out of business. He said: “People in the street have had enough. It is all about the Thirsty Thursdays, people even come down once a month for the £1 drinks because other areas have stopped doing it but not Ramsgate.
“We are working hard and then this happens and there is no help. We haven’t even had an update from the police.”
Mark, who was a head chef at various Thanet venues before taking on the café, says there needs to be more police action to halt the trouble.
Harbour Street is in a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) area to combat antisocial behaviour after hundreds of complaints and enforcement action against people spitting, urinating and defecating in public areas as well as jumping between buildings.
The order covers Central Harbour and parts of Eastcliff in Ramsgate. A separate order covers Margate Central and Cliftonville West. The orders give additional powers to police and council officers to combat a range of antisocial behaviour.
These wards have the highest rate of antisocial behaviour reports in the district accounting for more than half – 53% – of all complaints.
Several dispersal orders were also put in place in the Ramsgate town area this year and in 2017 to give police officers powers to disperse groups of two people or more and order them to leave the area without returning for up to 24 hours.
During the 2017/18 financial year tactics to combat antisocial behaviour across the isle have included a large number of police dispersals, the application for three civil injunctions, two Criminal Behaviour Orders, 36 Community Protection Warnings and 8 Community Protection Notices.
Thanet District Council’s Community Safety Team dealt with 239 complaints of ASB within the designated areas and took enforcement action for the misuse of public space on 23 occasions.
Arrest
A Kent Police spokesman confirmed an arrest had been made in connection with the damage to The Daily Grind window.
A spokesman said: “Police were called to Harbour Street, Ramsgate at 1.22am on Friday, December 7, following a report a shop window had been smashed.
“A man was arrested and Karl Brock, 25-years-old, of Linksfield Road, Westgate On Sea, was charged with criminal damage, assault on police and a public order offence. He will appear before Margate Magistrate’s on January 10.”
Perhaps if Ramsgate Town Council had adopted a night-time economy management strategy neighbourhood plan this kind of disruption wouldn’t still be happening. The lack of joined up thinking appears to be beyond the capacity of our local good and great. Which pubs are offering “Thirsty Thursday Promotions”? They should either stop or be held accountable for the subsequent mayhem.
Couldn’t agree more. Pubs selling to already intoxicated people are in breach of their licence but the council does nothing. Are brown envelopes and corrupt officials involved?
If everyone who was affected logged their complaint every Friday perhaps the licensing would be reviewed. Surely there are residents in the area as well as business owners who could stand up for the area. A friend told me once of a European saying, ” it takes 2 good citizens to keep a street safe”. NOT vigilantes, just to speak up.
I am very interested to know how a Neighbourhood Plan is supposed to stop lawlessness. In fact RTC has made its opposition known when a local taxi company applied for retrospective planning permission. The queue for minicabs is a major factor in anti social behaviour at night at certain times.The planning Inspectorate thought otherwise.
Thanet Community Safety Partnership and the Police have oversight over the Public Space Protection Order or PSPO, not RTC.
RTC can and does comment on the problems caused by the Night time economy, but that is as far as it can go.I will write a paper for Neighbourhood plan group to consider on the Night Time economy,
The police and council know full well where the hot spots for trouble are but do nothing to prevent it. Close the pubs and clubs at 11 pm. Who in their right mind and I repeat right mind wants to drink to early hours. Even our courts are a waste of taxpayers money by not giving out the right sentence’s to the brainless idiots who cause damage and violence.
Local pubs are unfairly put to a standard that the seafront ones simply aren’t. £1 drinks are clearly a violation of good licensing. However the whole council is under the thumb of Frank Thorley. How many times a week are the police called to the Royal? Its ridiculous.
If there wasn’t all those bars, licensed or not to be open all night serving drunks and then sending them out into the streets once they get a bit lairy inside and have spent all their money, then most of the damage wouldn’t happen in the night. Many people, male and female can’t handle their drink and turn anti-social picking fights and kicking in windows. What sort of night time economy is that? Of course residents have complained, that’s why the PSPOs were put in place. But an Order cannot stop what goes on if enforcement isn’t about at the time. Most know that Council Enforcement Officers are not walking the streets late at night and the police cannot be everywhere at the same time so like all other crime everywhere, it continues to take hold. You cannot have your cake and eat it too, something has to give! If I was that owner I would go ahead and order the shutters without fear of Planning consent being refused, otherwise we are going to end up with another ghost town due to council negligence.
there still walk about all day in town with drinks in hand sit in groups all the police and p c o walk by say hi to them carry on walking by them police should be there 8.0 clock to 9 30 AM out side betfred betting shop all pissed shouting and drinking
He called and was told there are “no police in the area” – that’s the problem, police cuts. We need more police. The PSPO isn’t the answer.
Yet there are plenty when there is a peaceful demonstration about live exports on Nethercourt, far from the madding crowd. Political point, not relevant…..it’s not all about Tory cuts.
There regularly seems to be a spare 4-6 cars and 5-14 officers to detain, interrogate and give me advice at the roadside( or even my front door on xmas, yes xmas).They always all arrive within max 10mins of 1st officers. No arrests, no laws broken. Each ‘police panto’ lasts 20-45mins and involves a lot of blue lights, sirens, aggression and ARM FOLDING. Blocking off roads but no crime to report.These people are not interested in crime! THANET HAS NO POLICE SHORTAGE. THEY MAKE THEIR OWN PRIORITIES. Ask Cleaveland police about officer shortages…