RESIDENTS are petitioning for two archways to be closed off in an effort to stop crime and antisocial behaviour.
People in Corsham Gardens say their cul-de-sac has become a cut-through for drug dealers, vandals and dog walkers who fail to clear up their pet's mess.
And if the council won't do anything about the problem, the residents say they intend to board up the archways themselves.
The ePetition was set up on the Nottingham City Council website by a female resident of Corsham Gardens.
She told the Post: "Some people are scared to come out, especially at night when it's dark.
"I dread summer because all the kids come round on their bikes cutting through. They are rowdy and throw their rubbish around. They sit there smoking and doing drugs.
"I do hope something gets done because this is a lovely estate with lovely people but the archways are the bane of everyone's lives."
Both of the archways enable people to cut through from Burgass Road to Corsham Gardens.
Residents say the criminals can easily escape through the archways on foot or by bicycle if a police car comes.
The petition asks that gating orders are made for the two they could be closed at certain times of day, or all the time.
The woman said she had previously tried to get the city council to close the archways – but they said there was not enough crime and public access was more important.
One male resident said: "If the council won't get it blocked off then I will get it blocked off, I assure you. Some of the residents have said they will help to do it. I can get a couple of big timbers. Everybody is there to help."
The woman said she has openly seen people exchanging packets of drugs by one of the archways and in the street and has been shot at with an airgun.
One male resident said he had seen drug dealers in the street as young as 13 and 14.
Another resident on the street still has a bullet hole in his upstairs window.
None of the residents were willing to be identified for fear of reprisals, but they said there have been numerous burglaries, people regularly get cars broken into, and last year part of the cul-de-sac was used as a hiding place for a stolen car.
Many of the neighbours have had to replace their fences because youths have broken them trying to climb over, or just by hanging off them.
Other residents are too scared to leave their bins in front of their houses, in case they are set alight. One man had his shed set alight and the heat broke the windows in his house. Another man found an axe in the hedge in his front garden.
A Nottingham City Council spokesperson said: "There is an ePetition on our website about a gating order for Corsham Gardens which people can sign until April 1, 2011.
"After that date, the council has 10 days to acknowledge it and inform the petition organiser what will happen. In this case it is likely to be sent to the relevant department to thoroughly investigate. Usually a full response is provided within 12 working days.
"The council received a request from a resident of Corsham Gardens for a gating order in 2007, but the request was turned down because the evidence did not satisfy the statutory criteria to gate off the public right of way."
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