Police: Harrow Leisure Centre still not safe (From Harrow Times)

Police: Harrow Leisure Centre still not safe

11:40am Thursday 23rd October 2008 in

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POLICE believe residents are still in danger of being victims of crime when using a local leisure centre, despite tough new rules imposed after a licensing hearing.

Sergeant Carl Davis said he was disappointed with the decision by a panel of Harrow councillors not to suspend the licence of Byron Hall until serious improvements have been made into the way it is managed.

He said: “If you go to the leisure centre, there is a fairly good chance of having your car broken into or your purse stolen.

“I am disappointed they didn’t suspend the licence until additional measures are in place.”

The venue, run for the past six years by Yorkshire-based Leisure Connection, was hauled before the licensing panel after police had to be called to a string of incidents.

Between August 2006 and August 2007, police had to investigate 54 crimes around Harrow Leisure Centre and Byron Hall, which are in Christchurch Avenue, including burglary, robbery, bomb hoaxes, fraud and indecent assault.

A Navratri and Diwali celebration decended into chaos last year as Byron Hall staff struggled to cope with the number of people who wanted to attend, leading to aggressive behaviour and police having to deal with crowd control.

In August this year, cops had to go to the entertainment venue twice, first when staff had to close early and drunk people were trying to get back in, and on August 29 when the takings of the bar were stolen during a break-in.

Sergeant Davis, in his submission to the licensing panel, wrote: “It has consistenly been apparent that the premises attracted criminality.

“The management of this premises by the licence holders has ensured the failure to take appropriate steps to prevent crime and disorder, prevent public nuisance, promote public safety and failed to promote the objectives of the protection of children from harm.”

The three-man panel of councillors, which sat at the hearing on Monday, imposed strict new conditions on Leisure Connection’s licence, including one security guard on duty for every 100 people, more CCTV cameras around the site and drinks to be sold in plastic glasses.

There are also various new measure to combat noise coming from Byron Hall, which has been a problem for local residents.

Chris Mitchell, spokesman for Leisure Connection, said the company was pleased with the outcome of the hearing and said they had already put in place many of the conditions. He said £5,000 has been invested into improvements to the leisure centre, including a new CCTV system and a noise control system, but declined to address the concerns of local police about the safety of the site. Sergeant Davis said the Leisure Connection staff who attended the hearing were embarrassed they had to be there and he called on Harrow Council to rapidly improve the management of Byron Hall and Harrow Leisure Centre.

He said: “Leisure Connection has consistently stalled, dithered, dawdled and smokescreened to avoid putting in extra security measures.

“They are quite happy to take the money of residents of Harrow, but where has the money been spent?”

Councillor Chris Mote, in charge of leisure in Harrow, vowed to tackle the problem, saying: ”We set high standards for external contractors who run facilities on our behalf and we will be working closure with Leisure Connection to see these are met."

However, he would not discuss whether Leisure Connection’s management of the two venues is under threat as the contract comes up for review in 2010.