Pilgrims Hatch Dispersal Order finally agreed

Common sense finally prevailed at Brentwood Borough Council last week when the Conservative administration listened to Pilgrims Hatch's Lib Dem councillors and agreed to the installation of a dispersal order to stop the anti-social behaviour that has blighted the area in recent months.

Brentwood Inspector Jon Burgess, said: "This order will not affect the law-abiding residents of Pilgrims Hatch.

"This order will only affect those who are causing misery and disorder for others and my officers will deal positively with any offenders.

"We want to ensure that everyone, whether they live locally or are visiting, can have an enjoyable and peaceful experience this Christmas time."

The area the order covers is considerably larger than that which Tory councillors had voted for when the issue was discussed in October.

The Liberal Democrats had asked for a blanket dispersal order covering the whole of Pilgrims Hatch, but their motion was amended by their Tory counterparts to cover just Harewood Road, Bishops Hall Park "and other roads members wished to add".

Brentwood Liberal Democrat party leader David Kendall said: "At last common sense has prevailed - we have got these dispersals in place after months of trying.

"Perhaps if other council members had listened to us we could have had things moving earlier."