[from the Huddersfield Daily Examiner, 21st September 2012]
STREET MARSHALS could be one solution to the Colne Valley problem of boozy Ale Trailers
An action group has been formed to co-ordinate concerns about the Trail, which sees hundreds of drinkers using trains on the TransPennine line to visit local pubs.
And around 50 people were at Slaithwaite Civic Hall for a meeting on Wednesday.
Several local landlords attended and residents were quick to point out that they had no problems with the pubs, just the rowdy element on the Ale Trail.
And Jamie Lawson, director of Ossett Brewery, owners of the Riverhead in Marsden, came up with the offer to help set up street marshals.
He said: “It is not a financial issue for us.
“I think street marshals in high visibility vests might be a good idea and we as a business would be happy to contribute.”
Police officers and ward councillors also urged people living in Marsden and Slaithwaite to ring 101 and report offensive behaviour to the authorities.
Officers revealed that only 12 official complaints had been lodged about the Ale Trail over the last three months.
Sgt Duncan Ramsden, of the Valleys Neighbourhood Policing Team, said that more resources were needed to police the event.
He said: “We have a six-man team. If two or three people were arrested, that would be the whole team gone off the streets.”
Marsden resident Paul Thirlwell replied:
“If nobody is ever arrested, what sort of a deterrent is that? I question the presence of police if they are not going to do anything.”
Sgt Ramsden said that extra resources were required and that special constables were one option. He would ask the senior management team in Wakefield for a tactical review and added:
“The more calls we get regarding an issue, the more people will take notice.”
Clr Donna Bellamy, who chaired the meeting, urged those attending:
“Just keep ringing the 101 number and reporting problems.
“We know there are more incidents, but they are not being reported. Please report them.”
Clr Nicola Turner added:
“We need the public of Slaithwaite and Marsden to report any problems to the police.”
Angry residents described a number of problems affecting Marsden and Slaithwaite, including lewd and disorderly behaviour, broken glasses, shouting and swearing.
Marsden resident Alistair Topping said:
“We are prisoners in our own homes from 2pm to 10pm every Saturday. The horrible noise and bad behaviour is becoming unbearable.
“I don’t think there is anything else like it in England where hundreds of drunken men are dropped outside our houses every Saturday from March to October.”
Many people felt that the sheer volume of people allowed on the trains, coupled with drunken behaviour, were a big part of the problem.
Another Marsden resident, Nicola Stenberg, described her journey on an overcrowded train from Huddersfield to Marsden with her nine-year-old daughter and five-year-old son.
She said: “People were swearing and singing and climbing on the luggage racks. My kids were terrified and my daughter is now too frightened to go on her own into Marsden village in the afternoon. “
Another local, Neil Allen, added:
“We should be looking at controlling numbers. The trains are hugely overloaded to a dangerous level.”
Colne Valley MP Jason McCartney, who has re-dubbed the Ale Trail the ‘Lager Line’, said that he had visited Marsden on a Saturday afternoon and counted 215 people alighting from one train.
He said: “I was gobsmacked at the high number of people getting off. Most of the people I spoke to that day had not paid a fare.”
Mr McCartney is to speak to the managing director of Northern Rail on the matter. He added that the whole issue needed to be addressed if the company was hoping to have its franchise renewed.
Drew Haley, area manager for Northern Rail, said that the problem required a co-ordinated approach. He said that numbers on public trains could not be limited but pledged to “beef up security and try to manage some of the behaviour.”
He also urged people to put out negative social media publicity about the Ale Trail and offered to fund a leaflet which would be handed out in pubs.
[notes from Ale Trail public meeting, 19th September 2012, as follows]
All those present were welcomed to the meeting and introduced to: –
- Cllr Donna Bellamy (Chair)
- Cllr Nicola Turner
- Jason McCartney, MP
And representatives from
- West Yorkshire Police
- West Yorkshire Police Licensing
- British Transport Police
- Northern Rail
People gave vivid descriptions of their experiences of living on the Ale Trail route. These descriptions included the following: –
People who live along the route taken by the ale trailers are virtual prisoners in their own homes for around ten hours on Saturdays. They can’t go outside their homes or even leave the windows open without hearing rowdy behaviour and swearing. It would not be appropriate to invite friends or family around with such behaviour going on all around. On Saturdays, it is necessary to shut doors and windows or to get out of the area altogether. For those who work from Monday to Friday, this limits the amount of rest and recreation during the weekend and the situation is intolerable.
Travelling on the train from Huddersfield with a 9 year old girl and 5 year old boy was a horrible experience for one attendee. The train was full of rowdy drunks. They were singing and swearing and climbing all over the luggage racks. The children were terrified. The ale trailers gave no consideration to the children and the parent.
There was a general consensus that the problems were around the number of people arriving in Marsden and Slaithwaite, their bawdy behaviour, swearing, public urination and littering. Concerns were raised about the number of people, in drink, crowded on to very small station platforms. “An accident waiting to happen” was a description of this situation. There was also a negative effect on house prices due to the Ale Trail and this created a similar trap to that caused by negative equity, with buyers unwilling to move into effected properties. Attendees were very keen to see robust enforcement. They were unhappy that Northern Rail do not collect fares from Ale Trailers, fail to refuse drunken people the entry to board trains and fail to attempt to modify the abusive behaviour of drunken passengers. To many, it was a surprise to learn that there is no upper limit to the number of passengers allowed on to a train. An increased number of arrests was also requested.
A number of possible solutions were discussed. Drew Haley (Northern Rail) suggested that negative publicity might help to reduce the numbers of people engaging with the ale trail and that negative comments could be added to appropriate websites in order to give out the message that the ale trail was not a good day out. Richard Woodhead (Police Licensing) suggested that a Marshal scheme could help the situation as people often modified their behaviour when they saw people in high-vis jackets patrolling. Jason McCartney, MP pointed out that The Riverhead in Marsden have kindly offered to contribute to such a scheme and asked Drew Haley if Northern Rail were willing to do the same, to which he received a negative reply.
Cllr Nicola Turner said that more of the multi-agency action days were needed to prevent drunks from boarding trains and to get the message across that Marsden and Slaithwaite were closed to unacceptable behaviours.
Drew Haley suggested a ticket for the Ale Trailers but said that public houses would have to work with Northern Rail and bar entry to anyone who could not present a ticket. This was not accepted because it would prevent locals from entering the pubs and be contrary to the licensing agreements, effectively turning a public house into a private club.
Members of the public and representatives of public houses in Slaithwaite and Marsden voiced that they were keen to contribute to possible solutions. There was discussion around ways forward and it was decided that a smaller working group, made up of members of the public, representatives of businesses and the relevant organisations/authorities would be a useful way of progressing the issues. This was agreed and noted that enough people were willing to commit their time in order to indicate that was a viable suggestion.
Commitment from Northern Rail, BTP, WYPS, Police Licensing, elected members and the MP were also sought. The following agreements were secured: –
West Yorkshire Police will actively seek more resources to police the two villages on Saturdays. It is vital that people report incidents in order for the Neighbourhood Police Team to plan how they deploy officers.
West Yorkshire Police Licensing will continue to engage with licensed premises and any multi-agency operations and also work with the smaller working group, emanating from this meeting.
British Transport Police will continue their quest for more resources and police the Ale Trail. Resources will be committed to Slaithwaite and Marsden on a Saturday unless BTP are called away to the football trains (where there is a much greater likelihood of violent disorder).
Northern Rail will use security staff to prevent people who are visibly in drink from boarding the trains. They will also apply for the Saturday trains on this line to be declared Dry Trains to discourage drinking on the trains. They will fund a leaflet that can be handed out, asking people to modify their behaviour and are also happy to work with people around social media, trying to dissuade people from coming on the Ale Trail.
Jason McCartney will take these concerns with him to Westminster, where he is The Vice Chair of the All Party Group for Rail in the North and continue to pursue these matters. He will support action group and feedback on actions he has taken.
Cllr Nicola Turner will get information to residents to let them know about the creation of the action group and to encourage reporting via the 101 number.
Cllr Donna Bellamy will be a member of the action group and continue to push for action days.
