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Blackwood Asda 'unlikely to close' in response to car cruising

3:52pm Tuesday 14th April 2009 in News

SUPERMARKET chain Asda says it is unlikely its Blackwood store will close on Thursday evenings following a councillor’s request.

Earlier this month we reported Asda had apologised to councillors and residents for the problems car cruisers who use the store’s car park are causing.

The store said it was concerned for the safety of customers and staff as up to 400 car cruisers gather in Blackwood on Thursday nights, with many congregating in the car park and intimidating shoppers and local people.

In a letter replying to Cllr Etheridge’s request to close the store on Thursday evenings, an Asda spokeswoman said: “I’ve passed on your suggestion about closing the store on a Thursday, although I don’t believe this is something we will be putting into place in the near future.”

Cllr Etheridge has now requested a meeting with Asda’s managing director Andrew Bond to discuss future action.

He said: "I hope the managing director will take up my offer of meeting him in Leeds at any venue of his choice as none of my residents’ concerns have been addressed.”

Asda had promised to have automatic number plate recognition cameras operating in the car park by last November and to publicly display the number plates of cars which persistently cruise the site.

But a legal wrangle over fines Asda was planning to impose means the cameras, which have been installed, are not yet operating.

Councillor Etheridge asked what alternative measures Asda were now being looked into and was told the installation of speed bumps was being considered, but he said speed bumps were installed in the car park over a year ago.

He said: “We already have them so I hope we are talking about the same store, this is disappointing.”

Councillor Etheridge also asked for details of how the store was working with the police and council to address the problem, but Asda refused to provide any examples.

Comments(11)

D.G. says...
4:16pm Tue 14 Apr 09

"Councillor Etheridge also asked for details of how the store was working with the police and council to address the problem"

Maybe I'm missing something here, but isn't Councillor Etheridge on the council? So... shouldn't he know how (or if) ASDA are working with the council and the police? And at the end of the day, isn't anti-social behaviour the remit of the council and the police anyway?

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bruce says...
5:29pm Tue 14 Apr 09

I can't see what the problem is in other parts of the country if you use a supermarkets car park without buying something and haveing a till reciept for over a fiver you are charged five pounds its so simple.

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M Henry Morgan says...
5:47pm Tue 14 Apr 09

D.G. Potentially I'm missing the point here as well. I've no connection to or loyalty to any particular trader but surely irrespective of the size and nature of the store, be it Asda, Tesco or a corner shop; they have the right to trade within the terms of their license in a safe environment and without disruption. I would expect a councillor to focus on dealing with the cause not the symptoms and clearly the cause does not reside in Leeds. Is he suggesting that identifying and dealing with the registered owners of '400' or so vehicles is beyond the capabilities of Caerphilly CC and the Police? If so maybe he should be representing the Store owners and residents in the vicinity and negotiating a reduction in Council Tax resulting from their ineffectiveness in dealing with what appear to be public order offences?? Perhaps a little less noise is seemingly attempting to publicly take Asda to task and a bit more focus on getting the authorities to deal with a problem that would likely to move elsewhere should the store be closed, might just do the trick!

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Nevasleep says...
8:33pm Tue 14 Apr 09

Tescos and Sainsburys in some locations(eg Swansea City Centre) already fine people if they stay in car park longer than 2 hours. Asda should implement this in the evenings.

Also why can't they ask the police to move people off their property.

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Bobter says...
8:39pm Tue 14 Apr 09

The words passing and buck come to mind here. Surely it is primarily the job of the police and the local council to deal with this matter which is clearly antisocial behaviour. Asda are retailers not law enforcers!

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ghost of arthur gould says...
10:18pm Tue 14 Apr 09

Not sure what louises1 is banging on about - what can the police do? Unless these toy car racers do anything illegal they are free to waste petrol and drive about in their mums cars like sad cases

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olive02 says...
10:19pm Tue 14 Apr 09

We were disgusted with what we witnessed on Friday afternoon we were in McDonalds car park having a snack where there were two middle age ladies sat by us in the car , they ate there takeaway and with out even getting out of the car or taking their rubbish home they just threw it out of the window on the ground .
Then two other cars parked by the side of us in McDonalds where young ladies and middle age gentlemen were having a takeaway . their language was totally disgusting ,music as loud as possible with these people making it know that they had travelled from Bristol to Wales
then to make things worse when we were travelling home a red fiesta travelling from wood field side across the bridge to Blackwood town centre six youngsters in a car who nearly lost control on the bend . so its not just on a Thursday these events occur and it is not just the local teenagers in our local area who cause all the problems .

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Alecs Casnewydd says...
2:35am Wed 15 Apr 09

People keep saying that they can't do anything. Blacked out windows are illegal if they are over a certain percentage. Number plates without correct spacing, lettering. Modifications must be registered with DVLA and Insurance Companies, otherwise illegal. Change of tyres and suspension height changes speedometer readings and payload - illegal. Change of exhaust means change in emission levels which can lead to change in tax amount payable. Emitting a blue or red light from the front of a vehicle or emitting a blue or white light (except reversing) from the rear of a vehicle - illegal.

Do the police want any more reasons to act?

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Javez says...
8:18am Wed 15 Apr 09

Don't forget that there are thousands of people out there who modify cars completely legally, drive sensibly and don't cause any kind of nuisance at all. I'd imagine these cruisers annoy them just as much, a theyh are often tarred with the same brush.

I'd hasten to point out that I am not among that number - the car I drive is a right old shed!

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macky says...
10:27am Wed 15 Apr 09

Would someone be kind enough to remind me why a proportion of my council tax is paid for policing? If like me you live in Risca, if you actually see a police officer on foot, it is probably because they'e wandered into the town by mistake. Yet when an incident occurs, usually minor, you can't move for police stopping you going about your LEGAL business! The police presence usually manifests itself as police cars speeding through the streets at 70 miles an hour with its siren screaming, even when the roads are empty in the middle of the night. It would be nice to see police at chucking out times as this is when they are needed. How can anyone have faith in the police force when they can't be bothered to show a face except when a motorist exceeds the speed limit, you soon see them then.

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valleyzgirl says...
5:30pm Thu 16 Apr 09

to be fair its all a fars, there just a group of people meeting up and talking about cars and having fun as some people do have fun... it would be a different story if they were out fighting and robbing.

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