Issues at park near Ber Street and Bracondale in Norwich

Located at the junction between Ber Street and Bracondale in Norwich, the little public space is overlooked by a surviving segment of the city's medieval walls. 

While it should be a pleasant spot, it has instead caused distress for city folk. 

Witnesses have reported disruptive behaviour and drug use in the park, including an incident in which two individuals appeared to snort a substance from the lid of a recycling bin. 

Now, following a fire in the park on the evening of Sunday 22 September, a local woman is at the end of her tether. 

She wishes to remain anonymous, fearing she will be targeted by those causing the problems.

The park is at the junction where Ber Street meets Bracondale (Image: Newsquest) "It has been going on for years," she says. "People sit there and drink all day, and they shout, swear and fight. 

"The city wall is being used as a urinal. It's a nuisance area for anti-social behaviour.

"On Sunday night, one of them even started a fire and a fire engine was called."

Between August 29 and September 20, she reported anti-social behaviour at the park three times to Norwich City Council. 

But the issue has persisted, and she feels ignored.

"I've filled in numerous anti-social behaviour report forms with Norwich City Council, but I feel like I'm being ignored."

A small fire broke out at the park on Sunday night (Image: Contributed) A spokeswoman for Norfolk Police confirmed that they had assisted the Norfolk Fire and Rescue Department after a small fire broke out in the area on Sunday evening. 

She said: "We were called at 5.40pm on Sunday, September 22 following reports of a fire in an open space on Ber Street.

"No one was injured. The fire was extinguished by fire crews at 5.43pm."

However, this is not the first time that Norfolk police officers have been called to the park.

"We have received calls from a member of the public about anti-social behaviour in a public garden area on Ber Street," confirmed the spokeswoman.

"In each case, police have attended the scene.

"Officers are proactively patrolling the area and will take appropriate action if they see any criminal activity. 

"We continue to work with partner agencies and encourage anyone who witnesses any incident on Ber Street to report it directly to us."

The park is close to some properties in Bracondale that are run by the St Martin's Housing Trust.

The park houses some of the city walls (Image: Newsquest) "It isn't all people from the St Martin's Housing Trust causing problems," insisted the anonymous local resident. 

"However, I have seen people come out of the trust houses and head straight for the park, where they meet their friends."

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A spokeswoman for St Martin's Housing Trust confirmed it is working with the community on this issue, but emphasised that it is not solely trust residents using the park.

Dr Jan Sheldon (Image: Sonya Duncan) "We are aware that there have been some concerns raised about anti-social behaviour in the Ber Street area," said St Martin's chief executive Dr Jan Sheldon.

"Where this behaviour can be linked to the people using St Martins services we have taken action.

"We have also increased our monitoring of our properties in the local area.

"The people who use our services sometimes have poor mental health, we are working with them and our colleagues in statutory services to try to get them the support that they need.

"We will always respond to neighbour concerns promptly and proactively."

Gurpreet Padda is a Labour city councillor for the Lakenham ward (Image: Denise Bradley) Gurpreet Padda, Labour city councillor for the Lakenham ward, confirmed that she was working with Norwich City Council and St Martin's Housing Trust to resolve the issue.

She said: "It is being seriously looked at and is currently in the process of being dealt with."

A spokeswoman for Norwich City Council added: "We are aware of the issues at Ber Street having received sporadic reports regarding the location.

"We have worked diligently with the police and other partners to resolve these issues and we are undertaking work at this area, regarding general maintenance such as cutting back the vegetation.

"We would ask residents that they report any concerns via our website so that we can respond quickly."