Sainsbury’s urged to shut car parks at night following Bracknell car meet misery
The local MP highlights anti-social behaviour in commons debate
A supermarket giant has been urged to lock its car parks at night to prevent car cruisers from causing “misery” for people living nearby.
Conservative MP James Sunderland appealed to Sainsbury’s to take steps to shut its parking areas when its stores are closed.
He said a recent car meet in the grounds of a Sainsbury’s in his Bracknell constituency, in Berkshire, resulted in residents “being assaulted”.
Mr Sunderland, speaking during day two of the Queen’s Speech debate, told the House of Commons: “Anti-social behaviour needs stronger powers.
“We have a lot of it in Bracknell, and across the wider constituency and across the UK.
“I think we need a bit more in terms of dealing with anti-social behaviour, in terms of police response, in terms of arrest at the scene.
“Anti-social driving is another feature locally.
“On Saturday evening at Birch Hill Sainsbury’s in Bracknell we had a big car meet.
“Fine, I love cars, I’m a motorsports fan, I chair the motorsports APPG (all-party parliamentary group), but activity like that needs to be managed and controlled.
“We had people spinning cars, doughnuts, tyre smoke, huge noise.
“It got to the point where residents were being assaulted.
“This cannot happen.
“I’d urge first of all Sainsbury’s to lock their car parks at night if the shops aren’t open. What an easy way of dealing with it.
“But also I’d urge Bracknell Forest Council, the Thames Valley police and crime commissioner, Thames Valley Police to deal more responsibly with these incidents because they just cause misery for all those concerned.
“We’ve got to cut down on speed, we’ve got to cut down anti-social driving, we’ve got to cut down on noise nuisance.
“It’s really, really important.”
A Thames Valley Police spokesman said:
“Our local neighbourhood teams are aware of the ongoing issue in relation to car meets and the select number of attendees that cause anti-social behaviour and noise nuisance to the local community.
“We are working with local businesses and the council to tackle the issue and will attend these types of incidents when we are able to.
“We encourage residents to continue to report incidents through 101 or using the TVP online reporting tool.
“It is important to remember that any drivers found to be using a vehicle in a manner which is causing, or is likely to cause, alarm, distress or annoyance to members of the public will be issued with a Section 59 Police Reform Act warning, which can lead to their vehicle being seized, or a community protection notice in line with the Anti-Social Crime and Police Act 2014.”