Our first meeting and actions

Many thanks to all the neighbours, councillors and local police representatives who attended our inaugaral Neighbours meeting. We were overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of the neighbourhood and benefited from some insightful comments from service providers.

In terms of key actions, it was agreed that we would:

1. Build a members list and keep attendees informed.

2. Distribute property marking kits to all neighbours on request. Many thanks to the Neighbourhood Policing team for supplying these.

3. Follow up on concerns raised about cars driving down 1-way sections of Portland Road putting locals at high risk. Portland Watch will liaise with the local Neighbourhood Watch to discuss potential options for monitoring and reporting.

4. The Bedfordshire Policing team were alerted to concerns about drugs misuse on Hampton Road which they committed to investigating and addressing.

5. There was a lot of interest in participating as Street Wardens so Portland Watch will contact those who volunteered and liaise with Bedfordshire Police to arrange training and vetting.

A well attended launch event with short speeches from Portland Watch founding members, Bedfordshire Police, Luton Borough Council staff and local councillors.