Neighbours in a close-knit community have blasted council plans to remove alleyway gates out of fear the 'rat run' passageway will result in a spike in crime and antisocial behaviour.
The alleyway sits adjacent to Hollins Road and behind at least 30 properties on Lynton Avenue and Chapel Street in Oldham.
The route has been concealed by gates for at least eight years which residents say has made a notable difference in deterring criminal activity.
However, neighbours whose properties back onto the alleyway recently received a letter from Oldham Council and Greater Manchester Police, outlining plans to remove the gated scheme for the sake of improving access to a property whose front door opens within the gated area.
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Yet several residents on the street say the plans "don't make sense" and fear the removal will prompt a spike in crime "overnight".
Speaking to The Oldham Times, Nigel Rees said he has lived on the street for 20 years and had suffered a spate of antisocial behaviour before the council installed the gates which residents all have access to with a key.
He said: "We used to get bikes - and now they're the electric motorbikes - which race up and down. It's like a rat run and you'd just hear 'bang'. It keeps us up at night.
"I've had cans and syringes thrown over the fence and into my garden.
"It was every weekend, gangs and kids would meet there, drinking.
"The gates stopped all that overnight - they're like a second defence - and kids can play there safely now."
Nigel said he felt "wound up" when he first received the letter, adding: "I still can't believe it, it doesn't make sense to me."
"It's brilliant here - neighbours all look out for each other."
In frustration, Nigel contacted the council and despite some email exchanges, he felt residents' concerns over the scheme had been ignored.
The letter does not suggest any way for neighbours to object, appeal or even reach a compromise.
The letter states a review is conducted on the gates every three years and found it to be in breach of a Public Spaces Protection Order due to the fact a front door now "sits within the curtilage of the gated scheme".
It adds that the legislation means "the main or principle entrance cannot be sited within an alley gate scheme" and that, "unfortunately", the gates must now be removed.
Another resident, who did not wish to be named, echoed her neighbour's concerns, stating the gates have "prevented motorbikes from racing around and gangs of youths doing drugs and dealing drugs."
She continued: "Local drunks used to meet and sit at the end house and there were 'relations' into the night.
"Keeping the gates provides security for us all - even for police as they know if they're chasing after someone that they can't run through the back of the houses.
"Fly-tipping is going to get worse, urinating is going to get worse, kids smoking weed, vandalism.
"It's a sign of the times as people are struggling for money - but we don't need our security taking away.
"As a woman, I'm worried about other women who get off the bus at night on the main road and will have to pass by the alleyway because people could just hide in there. It's not lit, either."
The resident, who has also lived in her home with her family for 20 years, also said burglaries and incidents were common before the gates were installed, citing one case where her neighbour's window was smashed.
She added: "I've got a child and it's an extra concern that we won't be able to keep our children safe.
"I'm worried about my neighbour - she has a small baby. And it's going to have a knock-on effect on our house prices.
"We're all on pins about it.
"I'm not heartless and I don't want to make another person more vulnerable. I understand that the house needs access to their property, but why [can't the ocuncil] just move the gates back a bit past their front door, rather than put the security of 35 homes at risk?
"Everyone has a key to the gates and we all lock it. We can all hear when the gate is going too so you feel secure at night.
"We just all need to stop it, everybody here wants the gates, and there's no date on the letter to say when it's going to happen."
Another resident, Colin Brierley, said he felt "downright disgusted" when he received the letter and said he was "disappointed" by the decision.
He added: "Why? If it's not broken, don't fix it. We'll all be vulnerable."
Another resident, Anthony Cooke, similarly said: "Myself and other residents are in uproar about it, mainly because in the past before the gates were installed, we did suffer from a lot of petty crime and antisocial behaviour.
"It's going to go sky high - it will rocket. It will overnight increase, you can guarantee that.
"I'm sure Greater Manchester Police will be concerned about it.
"The alleygates have been there for a considerable amount of years and the crime, it's cured it.
"Before the gates, we were getting people using the alleyways for drug use, toilets, meetings for drugs and things like that, petty burglaries.
"Residents didn't feel safe at all - some put metal jail bars on their windows because of it."
When contacted by The Oldham Times, Councillor Peter Dean, Cabinet member for thriving communities and culture said: “The council recently renewed a number of Public Space Protection Orders that cover the borough.
“During this exercise, we were made aware that the existing alleygate scheme now restricts access to a property which only has a single point of entry. This property didn’t exist when the alleygates were first introduced.
“Under national PSPO legislation, we are not allowed to restrict access to properties of this kind because if the gates were locked they could potentially block an escape route if there was an emergency.
“We sympathise with the residents but sadly the decision is out of our hands.
“The council has to operate within the law and there is right of appeal.
“However, because the safety and protection of residents is our priority we are currently exploring all options.
"We have taken their views on board and will be sharing information with them as soon as we have an update.”
The residents are planning a meeting later today (Monday, June 3) on the corner of Hollins Road and Lynton Avenue to discuss the move.
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