Residents at an unfinished housing estate in Darlington have been targeted by anti-social behaviour, with a councillor warning people to report incidents directly to police.
Those living on the Central Park estate, near Darlington College, have reportedly been affected by off-road bikes, noise complaints and items going missing from cars overnight during what Stephenson ward councillor Ian Haszeldine described as a "crime blitz".
Over the last several weeks, Cllr Haszeldine said he has been made aware of incidents happening during "all hours of the evening", involving groups of people causing problems for residents.
The Central Park development in Darlington
(Image: SARAH CALDECOTT/NORTHERN ECHO)
He said: “People have been targeting residents on the Central Park estate during all hours of the evening - it's unfair and needs to stop.
“It's turned into a crime blitz. People have ways of raising these issues, whether it's social media, community groups on WhatsApp or raising the issues with us councillors, but it needs to be reported to the police.”
Cllr Haszeldine has urged residents to contact police directly, saying reports and evidence are the most effective way of tackling anti-social behaviour on the estate.
Cllr Ian Haszeldine, who covers the Stephenson ward
(Image: SARAH CALDECOTT/NORTHERN ECHO)
He added: “Most people these days have doorbell footage or CCTV - please do share that with the police and help identify those people responsible for this anti-social behaviour.
“I'll do all I can to help residents because these issues can be intimidating to them, especially on an evening.”
The latest concerns come as residents continue to wait for the long-running Central Park development to be fully completed and adopted.
The Central Park development
(Image: SARAH CALDECOTT/NORTHERN ECHO)
The Northern Echo previously reported that people living on the estate had been “badly let down” after waiting about a decade for work at the site to finish.
Earlier this year, Cllr Haszeldine accused developer Keepmoat of treating residents like “fools” amid concerns over unfinished roads, cordoned-off paths and communal areas.
Keepmoat said at the time that the majority of remedial works had been completed, with the final phase including a link road from John Williams Boulevard to John Dixon Lane and the introduction of a bus gate.
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Once the outstanding work is completed, the site is expected to be cleared before eventually being considered for adoption by Darlington Borough Council.
However, the council previously warned that it could not formally adopt roads or other infrastructure until all necessary work had been completed to the required standard.
Central Park has also faced other problems in recent months.
The Northern Echo previously reported that residents had become embroiled in a “parking war” with students, with claims that vehicles were being left on grass verges, across pavements and, in some cases, on residents’ driveways.