Mediation move: 'Load of waffle' or way to solve problems on the Demesnes?

RESTORATIVE justice is being used to tackle anti-social behaviour at a beauty spot – and while critics claim the process is a “load of waffle”, others say it stands a genuine chance of working.
Problems at Barnard Castle’s Demesnes, including boy racers pulling doughnuts and people not cleaning up after their dogs, have been ongoing for about six years.
Now police and town councillors are pinning their hopes on mediation as part of the solution. But not everyone is convinced it will work.
Volunteers from Restorative Hub, a group that deals with petty crime and anti-social behaviour by bringing opposing sides together, met residents last week to hear first hand what the problems are.
Later, mediators will be meeting people who have been identified as causing problems.
Some residents say the meeting was a pointless “load of waffle” because it simply repeated what had been said during an earlier public meeting. Sally Forth, case co-ordinator, admitted there was some dissatisfaction initially.
But she said: “I wasn’t surprised that people were very frustrated because I know they have aired some of their views before, but I wanted the opportunity to listen to what they were saying and to understand what was underlining it.
“There were lots of positives that came out – there were lots of ideas. We do think we are part of the solution. ”
Dr Richard Warren, an
orchid expert who helped establish a hay-meadow on the upper Demesnes, left the meeting after about 45 minutes. He said: “I think the mediation is a load of waffle. The only solution I would have thought is to have police parked down there and catch the malefactor. ”
David Hume, from Thorngate, and Bill Bartle, who lives opposite the Demesnes, also felt the meeting went in circles. Both want to see part of the Demesnes allocated for people to park their cars and barriers put up to prevent vehicles from accessing the rest. 
Mr Hume said: “The only solution is to put a physical restriction in place. A ban altogether I don’t think is a solution.”
Mr Bartle added: “There was quite a lot of talking but no real solutions. We are defining the problem but not coming up with solutions.”
Mr Hume argued that mediation will not help because adults and their dogs are also a problem. He added that even if the current generation of young drivers act more responsibly, the problem will re-emerge when a new group of young people get their driving licences the following year.
Others, like Dr Warren, think cordoning off the Demesnes will not work and warned of cracked skulls when children tobogganing down the banks crash into the bollards. Barriers would also hamper plans to move the town’s annual Meet festival onto the Demesnes, he said.
He added: “Catching people and punishing them is the only solution.”
Dr Warren dismissed concerns about a lack of police resources and said an officer keeping watch on the Demesnes could still be on call in case of an emergency elsewhere.
However, Ms Forth said people in the meeting had an understanding of the police’s limited resources.
She said: “One of the people was saying there was a car towed away only three weeks ago, so it is not that they don’t have the resources to do anything, they just might not have adequate resources to have the level of presence that the residents want.”
The drawn-out process of transferring the land from the county council to the town council is complicating things.
Until this is finalised no physical solutions, such as bollards, could be put in place.
Ms Forth said: “I think what we are going to do (mediation) is going to be part of the solution, it can’t be all of it. It will be a strand, along with possibly bylaws, possibly restrictions, possibly police action. There are a lot of things going on and lots of ideas. Mediation can be long lasting, it can save on police resources, and it can make people feel a lot better.”
Anyone who would like to get involved with The Demesnes mediation process can email admin@restorative
hub.org.uk.
Restorative Hub is also looking for volunteers in the Barnard Castle area to help with mediation in other cases.
The hub was started three years ago with cash from Durham Police and Crime Commissioner Ron Hogg. It has been involved in more that 300 cases and has a success rate of about 85 per cent.