Portsmouth given £15,000 by Home Office for projects to stop nuisance behaviour in Hot Walls, Camber and Old Portsmouth

Hampshire Constabulary has been given the cash and it will be passed on to individuals and community groups to spend on local projects.

The money, which has been made available by the Home Office, is in place for initiatives which aim to reduce anti-social behaviour, provide activities and facilities for young people and encourage community engagement.

Any group or person is able to apply for up to £2,500 if they have a project or idea for their community in mind. All projects must benefit the Old Portsmouth, Camber Dock and Hot Walls area and applications need to be submitted by October 30.

The £15,000 is part of Participatory Budgeting (PB), a decision making tool where the community shape and develop the funding process, allowing the community to submit applications for funding.

In recent years there has been trouble during the summer in Old Portsmouth, with gangs of youths congregating. At its worst in July 2019 it saw a riot involving dozens of youngsters.

Portsmouth South Police Sergeant Rich Reagan said: ‘We spend much of our time, particularly over the summer months, listening to the community’s concerns regarding anti-social behaviour, especially in areas such as Old Portsmouth and the Hot Walls.

‘While we police these areas as best we can, anti-social behaviour cannot be solved by one organisation alone. We have always worked closely with partner agencies, community groups and residents across the city and have worked hard to secure this funding so that they can have a say in how the money is spent.

'We welcome this PB tool, which is a democratic process that allows the community to shape the funding process, community groups and organisations to apply for funding for local projects, and the wider community to come along and vote for where they think the money should be spent. Have your say in how we can tackle anti-social behaviour and provide more facilities and activities for young people.’

Those who meet the criteria for the fund will be notified on Friday, November 4 and presentation drop-in sessions will be held online on Wednesday, November 16 and Friday, November 18 to support applicants. The Participatory Budgeting event will take place on Saturday, December 3 between 1pm and 4pm.

Mutual Gain programme lead Alan Budge said: ‘I’ve worked on Participatory Budgeting programmes for over 15 years, and in my experience they provide a unique opportunity to bring people together in order to have a meaningful say in how money is spent locally.

‘I’m very much looking forward to providing support to the ‘Sea Through Pompey Hot Walls/Old Portsmouth voting event on December 3.’

In 2019 police said that they recognised that the problem of juvenile nuisance was a complex one.

Neighbourhood Inspector Marcus Cator said then: ‘This recurring seasonal challenge is a complex societal issue that can’t be solved by one agency alone.

‘We want to reassure the community that we do take these issues extremely seriously and we will continue to look at how we can make further improvements and carry out enforcement.’