News / Harbourside
Harbour Inlet fenced off to prevent anti-social behaviour
For those missing Glastonbury Festival, a smaller version of its fence has now appeared at the Harbour Inlet.
The fence prevents anybody from accessing the pontoon sections and has been erected following “a significant rise in anti-social behaviour” in the area, including drug taking and even defecation.
A Bristol City Council spokesperson said that the fencing “will be in place for the foreseeable future and reviewed regularly”.
is needed now More than ever
On Thursday afternoon, Avon & Somerset police’s neighbourhood inspector for the city centre, Rob Cheeseman, was patrolling the Harbour Inlet, also known as Brunel Quay, with his colleague, PCSO Rosie Hill.
Inspector Cheeseman said that despite efforts to encourage an improvement in people’s attitudes, the “unacceptable” levels of anti-social behaviour continued, with numerous phone calls on a daily basis from local residents to the police.
Inspector Cheeseman said that the police had worked closed with the city council to get the “necessary improvement” required for the area.
He said: “We don’t want to restrict the area where it’s unusable entirely. We need to restrict it so that it can be at levels where anti-social behaviour is not an issue here for the local community.”
Around the Harbour Inlet are bars and restaurants including Spoke & Stringer and Broken Dock, currently both serving food and drink to take away.
The temporary fencing prevents anybody from accessing the floating pontoon – photo by Martin Booth
Broken Dock owner Natasha Pierce said that she hopes the fencing is only temporary.
Natasha said: “I understand why groups are coming down here. It’s a beautiful location. Unfortunately though they are abusing the area by leaving litter, there are no toilet facilities available for them, but at the moment they have nowhere else to go so they’re just going to move on somewhere else.”
She added: “Hopefully people will soon be able to come back down and the area will return to what it used to be, for residents, visitors and business owners, where people can enjoy the view and the sunset and it’s relaxed.
“That’s how it should be and that’s why we bought the building. We have been here six years now fighting for the area. It’s a beautiful place.”
Main photo and video by Martin Booth
Read more: People think the pints being enjoyed by the harbour on Friday were Photoshopped
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