Members of the public have backed a crackdown on nuisance drivers and car meets in a Derbyshire town following 350 complaints in 18 months. Erewash Borough Council is due to bring in £100 fines for nuisance drivers across the whole of Ilkeston following an uptick in anti-social behaviour logged by the police and residents.
It will ban car cruising events and car meets, with fines for all those spectating or participating; nuisance revving; driving stunts including doughnuts, drifting, skidding, handbrake turns and wheel spinning; convoy driving that obstructs the road; emitting loud noise such as amplified music or vehicle horns from a motor vehicle so as to cause a nuisance; and promoting, publicising or organising car meets or car cruising events. The council says 350 people accessed the survey with 98 per cent of respondents saying they would be in favour of the restriction, with “many” asking that it covers more of Ilkeston rather than the initially proposed or more of Erewash as a whole.
It says that in the 18 months between June 2023 and December 2024 the police received 350 complaints about anti-social use of vehicles or car meets in the Ilkeston area. Of these, 70 incidents related to Chalons Way in the two months from November 1 to December 27, 2024.
The council referenced a “viral” video of a BMB drifting around the roundabout at the top of Chalons Way in October, last year, as being a prime example of the issue it aims to tackle. It also references a YouTube video of a “Forza Nottingham Car Meet” hosted at the Manners Industrial Estate in Ilkeston – including dozens of cars lining the road and drivers revving engines – as further evidence of nuisance behaviour.
Officials write: “From local information and online evidence, it is believed that a significant number of the car meets have been organised by a nationwide group called Forza. However, it is believed that others are also attending the area in smaller groups, who may not be part of an organised meet.
“The type of activity evidenced makes planned enforcement action difficult as it is impossible to anticipate, which limits the options available to organisations.” The council says: “The impact of this ongoing ASB has been consistently reported by local residents as being:
- “Detrimental to their normal, everyday use of their properties from the noise and revving from the motorised vehicles being used in an anti-social manner
- “Detrimental from the ongoing and persistent behaviour happening often for a number of weekends in a row, causing concern for weekends approaching
- “Detrimental to their normal, everyday use of their properties from the noise of the motorised vehicles during late evenings impacting upon their health, wellbeing and sleep patterns (both adults and children); and
- “Of concern for themselves and other users of the area due to the behaviour being perpetrated and the risks to those in and around the area.”
The police would primarily be responsible for enforcing the restrictions, with the council also detailing the public space protection order (PSPO) “is unlikely to deal with all complaints about vehicle use in the restricted area”. It says: “However, this order will complement the existing powers available to the police and provide another tool to support a crackdown on this kind of anti-social behaviour.”
In December, the borough council slammed the nuisance motorists as “idiots” and “car louts”, “revving engines and squealing tyres – usually at weekends after dark”.
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