Anti-social fears at 'UK's happiest place'

Skipton on market day is bustling with tourists, dog walkers and people heading into many of the shops and cafes but anti-social behaviour has started to leave some residents feeling intimidated and fearful.

The North Yorkshire market town, known as the gateway to the Yorkshire Dales, was named as the "happiest place" to live in the UK last year, according to a survey conducted by Rightmove.

It was praised for its access to nature and green spaces, the friendliness of its residents and its easily-accessible essential services like schools.

However, concerns have started to be raised about a rise in anti-social behaviour around Skipton bus station.

Last month, a man in his 60s suffered a head injury after an incident there.

A 15-year-old boy was arrested by North Yorkshire Police on suspicion of assault and has since been released on bail.

MP for Skipton and Malton Sir Julian Smith has called for a greater police presence around the bus station and has asked for permanent CCTV to be installed on the site.

Commenting on the attack, one 23-year-old woman, who did not want to be named, said: "Like many others in the community, I find this deeply troubling and, frankly, infuriating.

"It is unacceptable that individuals should feel unsafe in their own town.

"This kind of behaviour reflects a wider issue of respect and accountability that seems to be slipping."

Another woman who lives in the town said she did not want to be named as she felt intimidated by those carrying out the anti-social behaviour.

She said there had been incidents of people "smashing up one of the bus shelters, banging on bus windows when the buses are waiting to leave".

She said people were concerned.

"I think there's a general sense of people starting to feel quite alarmed by this behaviour because it doesn't fit with Skipton as we know it," she said.

Some people in the town described the situation as "intimidating".

Commenting on the groups gathering at the bus station, a woman who runs a shop in the town said: "They've got nowhere to go. They've not got anything to do so that's why they accumulate".

She said she did not want to be identified as she was fearful of the repercussions.

"There's just too many of them, I think that's the problem," she said.

"It needs nipping in the bud and it's solvable."

Sir Julian is pushing for CCTV at the bus station.

"I think it can be made more secure," he said.

"I think the challenge is that at certain times of the day there are large groups of people... and I think [there is] just a general feeling of not being safe, a perception."

He said there had been "some issues" with bus drivers "not wanting to come in" to the bus station at night.

He said he had had a lot of correspondence to his office and meetings where people had said they felt unsafe after specific incidents.

Police would continue to regularly patrol the bus station, he added, focusing specifically on key points in the day.

Skipton Town Councillor Brian McDaid said one of the priorities was to install CCTV.

"We did get some temporary CCTV over the Christmas, New Year period that clearly demonstrated it did have a positive impact," he said.

"The concerns were eradicated and also the crime stats were down on anti-social behaviour but unfortunately it was temporary and we are back to square one."

A meeting was held at the town hall on Monday to discuss some of the concerns.

Following the meeting McDaid said that hearing directly from people about their experiences and concerns was crucial.

"We will now take everything we've heard away and turn that into a clear set of actions, working closely with the police and our partners," he said.

Another public meeting is due to be held in three months to review progress.

A North Yorkshire Council spokesperson said: "Our community safety team is working closely with a range of partners to address these issues urgently."

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