Community warden night time economy scheme to stay
The Royal Borough’s night time economy (NTE) enforcement pilot scheme, introduced last summer to allow community wardens to be on patrol overnight at weekends, will continue.
The wardens patrol parts of Maidenhead, Ascot, Windsor and Eton between 7pm and 3am on Fridays and Saturdays.
They are there to assist in the management of the night time economy and to help improve the experience for residents and visitors. They do not act as surrogate police officers.
Since the pilot started in July 2015 just under 700 licensing compliance checks and 301 environmental protection investigations have been undertaken. The NTE team has also gathered evidence and reported 143 issues through to the council’s licensing team for further investigation and possible formal enforcement.
The scheme will be reviewed again in early 2017.
Cllr Carwyn Cox, cabinet member for environmental services, said: “We are very pleased with the feedback we received on the pilot and I’m delighted we now have continued support and commitment for the project.
“It’s a hugely valuable addition to the council’s enforcement service and provides us with the ability to actively investigate incidents of non-compliance, for example where licensed premises do not close at the times specified on their licence or do not operate in accordance with parameters set out by our environmental protection team.
“Where we can, we always try and deliver services 24/7 and this scheme reflects this.”
The wardens focus on providing a first response service to help deal with issues such as noise, anti-social behaviour and taxi parking. They also provide a reassuring presence for people.