A Freedom of Information request document has shown that Cleethorpes’ Pier Garden maze only had one police-logged incident of anti-social behaviour over the last five years.
The decision to remove the feature this summer proved highly controversial and has been continually challenged by Councillors and residents. North East Lincolnshire Council has insisted the decision was in large part due to anti-social behaviour.
In a statement issued to Gi Grimsby News, Leader of the Council Councillor Philip Jackson said the area had suffered “significant and sustained” anti-social behaviour, meaning Council workers routinely had to deal with “needles and other potentially dangerous items.”
Councillor Philip Jackson said: “The maze has, unfortunately, over the years, suffered significant and sustained anti-social behaviour. This includes fires, damage to the board walks and regular evidence of drug use, including discarded drug paraphernalia. Disgustingly, it has also been used as a human toilet. We have worked closely with Humberside Police around these issues, but they are difficult to prevent due to the open nature of the gardens and the lack of light in the maze in the evening, and its enclosed nature, making CCTV surveillance of low value. Even with daily inspections and cleaning, it is very difficult for the Council’s grounds maintenance team to spot and remove needles and other potentially dangerous items when they are hidden by vegetation and leaves. Is this the sort of place we want children to be playing?
“In addition, the privet hedging plants were old and had taken a significant amount of abuse, so horticulture practices alone would not have enabled the maze to fully regrow into a good park feature, even if the ASB was able to be tackled. So it was recommended, based on public safety, that the structure should be removed and a new design for this space implemented. As work to remove the maze was pre-planned, it was absent from all proposed design drawings during the public consultation on the Pier Gardens redevelopment and we did not receive negative feedback on this aspect.”
Despite this, the response to a Freedom of Information request submitted by a member of the public has shown that in the last five years, there was only one incident where the police logged anti-social behaviour at the maze.
Although data shows a total of 41 police incidents in Pier Gardens between April 2023 and April 2024, including 12 classed as anti-social behaviour, Humberside Police said “there has been one incident recorded by Humberside Police as having taken place within the Hedge Maze specifically, over the last 5 years.”
North East Lincolnshire Council is understood to keep its own log of incidents and has been contacted for details – more to follow.
