Nuisance neighbour finally barred from property after order granted
A nuisance neighbour who plagued her community with anti-social behaviour has been turned out from her property.
The council property on Oak Street in Netherton, which is rented by Elaine Lewis, had been under a partial closure order since March 16, which allowed Lewis and her sons to stay in the property, but prohibited anyone else from entering.
Dudley Council said this order was persistently breached, with visitors attending the property daily and anti-social behaviour continuing.
Between 2019 and this year, Dudley Council and West Midlands Police had received numerous and persistent complaints of nuisance behaviour with residents saying they were living in fear, alarm and distress.
The council has worked closely with West Midlands Police and, last week, the council was successful in being granted a full closure order, effective until June 16.
This order means Lewis and her adult sons are barred from the property during this time.
The council will monitor the situation and consider applying for an extension to this order and will be pursuing a county court action to end the tenancy, while Lewis faces £1,134 in costs.
Councillor Laura Taylor-Childs, cabinet member for housing and communities, said: “Implementing a full closure order is a serious undertaking and something we only feel the need to pursue with the most troublesome of tenants.
“Ms Lewis had made life unbearable for her neighbours and we were forced to take this action, with the full support of the police.
“It’s important that people feel safe in their communities and we will not sit by and let people live in fear.
“We take anti-social behaviour incredibly seriously and will not baulk at taking this kind of action in extreme cases.”
The incident is one of several that the council has been forced to apply for over the last few months as it continues to work to stop anti-social behaviour from causing fear, alarm and distress to residents living in the borough. In February, a council tenant was forced to leave his home on Pale Street in Upper Gornal after Dudley Council and West Midlands Police received numerous complaints about the property.
The tenant and his visitors had been causing fear and intimidation to local residents and the community for a number of weeks, with reports of high numbers of visitors, fighting and alleged smoking of drugs.
In November last year, a closure order was served on Brady Piddington after numerous complaints were received about his property on Norfolk Road in Dudley.
Complaints alleged the property was being used for drug dealing, that there was noise nuisance due to a high volume of visitors congregating at all times of the day and anti-social behaviour outside the property including motorbikes and cars being driven at speed.
