Parish council changes its bylaws for the first time in 57 years after its £2 fine failed to deter vandals and troublemakers

A parish council has updated the 57-year-old bylaws for its village green – because a £2 fine was no longer enough to deter vandals and troublemakers.

The eight-acre field in Bradenham, Norfolk, introduced the penalty in 1966 – back when England won the World Cup and the Beatles released Revolver.

But the fine – equivalent to £32 today – was being ignored by joyriders who churn up the village cricket pitch and youths causing a nuisance at night.

The parish council applied to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to raise it to £500 – and update the bylaws – in 2019. The overhaul faced delays until now, including the pandemic.

The fine – equivalent to £32 today – was being ignored by joyriders who churn up the village cricket pitch and youths causing a nuisance at night (Cricket on the village green in Bradenham)

The update means archaic rules have now been ditched, including a ban on ‘beating, sweeping or brushing a carpet’ and ‘driving a bicycle, tricycle, wheelchair, perambulator or chaise [open, two-wheeled carriage] drawn by horses’ unless ‘for the conveyance of a child or invalid’.

Banned from the green under the new rules are motorcycles, motor scooters, Segways (or similar), motor vehicles or trailers. 

Skateboarders and roller skaters will break the bylaws if they cause ‘danger, damage or annoyance’.

Chris Allhusen, chairman of the parish council and a blackcurrant farmer, said: ‘We’ve got a lovely village green and we do get a little bit of anti-social behaviour, so we wanted something with a little teeth.’

Source: Read Full Article