Problem Durham Road house is closed down

A house at the centre of drug dealing and anti-social behaviour which left nearby residents "living in fear" has been shut down.

Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council, working in partnership with Cleveland Police, secured a three-month closure order for 35a Durham Road at Teesside Magistrates' Court yesterday (April 2).

The Court considered how there had been a constant stream of visitors to the house, including during the early hours of the morning, to buy drugs. And neighbours had reported seeing men in balaclavas arriving at the property, as well as fighting and arguing.

This had led to neighbours reporting they were fearful for their safety and suffering from sleepless nights.

"Nobody should feel unsafe in their home, but sadly this has been the reality for residents living near this property, which became a magnet for anti-social behaviour and drug dealing," said the Council's Cabinet Member for Access, Communities and Community Safety, Councillor Norma Stephenson.

She continued: "I hope this closure order provides some much-needed respite for nearby residents who have been living in fear. This closure shows what a zero tolerance approach we take to anti-social behaviour.

"I'd like to pass on my huge thanks to our Community Safety team, who have worked tirelessly on this case alongside our partners at Cleveland Police to swiftly secure this closure.

"If you have any concerns about anti-social behaviour, you can report it to our Community Safety team by calling 01642 607943, or emailing civic.enforcement@stockton.gov.uk."

Chief Inspector Andy Evans, from Stockton's neighbourhood policing team, said: "One of our top priorities is to make Stockton a safe place for residents to live and that means taking robust action against those who cause criminality, fear or violence.

"In this case, the local community were plagued with anti-social behaviour and witnessing fights as well as drug activity at a property. This criminality is something we simply will not tolerate and following various reports and information provided to us, officers were able to work alongside the council to close down the property to prevent this activity and disorder from continuing."

"This has helped to protect the local community and I would encourage other members of the public to also come forward with information so we can continue to take this type of action. Information can be provided by calling police on 101 or if reticent to come forward, you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111."