A STRONG police presence and encouraging youngsters to take part in youth activities are two areas people in Blackbird Leys would like to see from neighbourhood officers and Oxford City Council.

Officers and the council’s board member for community safety, Tom Hayes, joined forces to take concerns and views from residents on the estate at the annual Leys Festival.

Mr Hayes said he was ‘extremely eager’ to have a ‘joint council-police presence at the fair’.

The Have Your Say Meeting came after joint council-police presence at the fair, in the wake of an attack which left Christopher Lemonius, 27, was found with serious injuries in an alleyway off Jourdain Road on June 1.

He was taken to hospital but died shortly afterwards. A total of thirteen arrests have been made during the investigation and five people have been charged with murder.

Mr Hayes said he was looking to hold more meetings with communities across the city.

The council board member for community safety added:”This was a great opportunity for residents to highlight areas of concern on their doorstep and shape how the council and police offer a better service to members of the public.

“As I saw at the last Have Your Say event, in my ward, residents really appreciate engaging with an out and about approach.

“It’s a very effective way for the council to learn a cross-section of views from people we don’t normally hear from.

“Often people don’t have the time to attend scheduled neighbourhood meetings but will happily tell the council their views if they see us out and about on the street.”

Hundreds of families turned out for the event in Blackbird Leys park on Saturday afternoon, where concerns were raised about anti-social behaviour, the environmental and noise issues.

Yesterday, Mr Hayes said council officers spoke to a total o 71 residents, of which 34 agreed to fill out a survey.

The city council said the ‘main issue’ that people raised was ‘groups of young people hanging around and causing low-level anti-social behaviour’.

The local authority added: “This made up 18 per cent of all issues raised.

“Further action will be taken by the city council to increase existing patrols in identified areas.”

When asked could be done to reduce the issues, the feedback was an encouragement for more young people to participate in youth activities and retaining a visible policing presence in the area.

Another issue which raised l was dog fouling and poor dog control in the area, which the council have said they will look to crackdown on.

Neighbourhood sergeant Neil Applegarth arrived in Blackbird Leys for the first time on the same night the estate was left reeling when police launched the murder investigation, He previously said in the aftermath he is leading a ‘single-priority’ team focused on keeping people safe.