BARRIERS have been installed at Tesco in Monkspath in a bid to prevent boy-racer gatherings.
Speed bumps, bollards and barriers are now in place in the shared Notcutts and Tesco car park to deter large meetings of car enthusiasts and boy-racers.
The barriers will be managed by Tesco staff and will not be lowered until Notcutts is closed – stopping any use of the top end of the car park where the gatherings took place.
The measures will not prevent Tesco customers from parking their vehicles nor ‘trap’ cars in the car park over night.
Coun Ken Hawkins and local resident Alex Insley, who petitioned the stores to install the blockades, said the high-profile boy-racer meet on August bank holiday last year was the ‘straw that broke the camel’s back’.
The meet saw more than 1,000 people in 500 cars decsend on the car park – revving engines and sparking concern among Monkspath residents.
Welcoming the installation of the barriers, Blythe ward councillor Coun Ken Hawkins said: “We have fought long and hard for this.
“We’ve struggled with the issue of boy racers for years, but last summer it was worse than ever.
“This is because they have been stopped in Birmingham and Coventry, so are coming from all over the region to meet here in Solihull.
“It is a shame we have had to resort to such measures but the noise and other anti-social behaviour caused at the these meetings was not something that could be tolerated any further.”
In response to a petition from Coun Hawkins, Solihull Council is now seeking a joint court injuction with Birmingham City Council to ban such gatherings in the borough.
Coun Hawkins added: “We are almost there and hopefully all these measures will ensure the good people of Monkspath and Cheswick Green, as well as store users, will now be free of such large gatherings and the extreme noise and danger some of those attending create.”
