Cafe 'will not back down' despite damage and abuse

Grace Stewart said she felt intimidated by the anti-social behaviour

A social enterprise cafe said it would not be going anywhere despite facing "persistent" vandalism and anti-social behaviour.

Grace Stewart, manager of The Feed in Waterloo Park, Norwich, said incidents including benches thrown into fountains and verbal abuse were nothing new.

But with incidents frequently reported to the police, Ms Stewart said CCTV was needed.

"I do personally feel quite targeted and intimidated... we seem to have become the enemy, which feels really horrible," she said.

Vandalism has increased recently following Norwich City Council's decision to keep parks and cemetery gates unlocked overnight.

They were left unlocked around the clock between October and the start of this month until the council reversed the decision following reports of drug use and vandalism.

Last week, the cafe – which leases the building from the council – had its chairs smashed, staff suffered verbal abuse, and outdoor benches were found in the water fountains.

"It is so demoralising. We are a charity – we haven't got funds to replace things that are broken," said Ms Stewart.

"The whole team has such a community spirit and ethic. It just really goes against what we are doing when we try so hard to make it a nice place."

Benches smashed in Waterloo Park – just some of the recent vandalism

The Feed, which is a charity, does not have the funds to keep fixing damage

But she said the charity would not "back down" in the face of the anti-social behaviour and the cafe would not move.

While CCTV could be a solution, she said the charity could not afford it.

"One of the main missions we had in taking this premises on was to do good in the community, and that was knowing the relative challenges that are faced by people in this community," she said.

"They do make it a personal thing... I have had instances where I've had to leave out of side fire exit doors so that they don't see me leaving because I don't want them following me. I don't want them to know what car I'm driving."

Ms Stewart added: "The sustained nature of it is appalling. It's not just one time when you come in and your benches are in the water – it is a quite common routine.

"I think the persistent nature of it [means] it needs to be treated more seriously."

Grace Stewart thinks CCTV in Waterloo Park would help

Norfolk Police received 650 reports of anti-social behaviour in Norwich North last year.

A spokesperson for the force said: "Beat managers regularly patrol this area and we've worked closely with the council and local businesses to monitor anti-social behaviour in the park."

The Feed is a charity-run cafe

Norwich City Council said it was aware of the issues in the park.

"It is an ongoing intermittent problem which we will pick up with police again, and visit the cafe management on site to discuss options," a spokesperson said.

"CCTV is a possibility [although] technical solutions have to be considered, such as where to mount them and electricity supply."

Norwich North MP Alice Macdonald is due to hold a Westminster Hall debate on anti-social behaviour in the East of England on Tuesday.