A scheme cracking down on weekend crime inside a trouble-hit park appears set to be made permanent.

The five main gates leading into Dane John Gardens, Canterbury, have been locked between 10pm and 4am on Fridays and Saturdays during a trial over the last year.

This came after a KentOnline investigation revealed 12 women had been raped or sexually assaulted at the beauty spot between 2020 and 2021.

Now, newly published papers show city council bosses want to continue shutting the park overnight on weekends, after being told by locals and the police the scheme has cut anti-social behaviour.

Responding to a local authority survey about the changes, one person living by the Dane John said: “It has been amazing.

“No one was urinating on buildings and there were no screams or arguments between drunk people.

“My young family have often felt threatened at night by fireworks, cannabis smoking, drug dealing and aggressive shouting late into the night.

“But the trial has given us some reprieve from this.”

Council documents reveal 20 of the 21 people who responded to the end-of-trial survey believe the closure had a “positive impact” and wanted it to become permanent.

The authority papers also say £4,200 will be spent every year locking and unlocking entrances into the park. A further £75,000 would be sourced to fabricate and install five “heritage-style gates” at the entrances.

Authority chiefs also suggest the entrances could be sealed off every night of the week if an “automated solution on opening and closing” them can be found.

Despite this, Cllr Ashley Clark, who is the authority’s enforcement boss, is unsure if it is worth the expense.

“I feel it’s quite a lot of money,” the senior Conservative argued.

“We have to be as smart as possible with the budget we have, resources are scarce and we have to do what we can for the optimum effect.

“But when you’ve got gates in a park in a city with world heritage status, you’ve got to make things look good.

“I would prefer to have patrols through the park rather than having these gates - people would like to see a more traditional approach to policing.”

A previous gate-locking trial, which launched in July 2019, had to be abandoned when Covid hit.

During the recent £4,200 trial - paid for by Kent Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Scott as part of his Safer Streets Fund - the Worthgate and castle wall entrances were kept open.

Akon Security managing director, Oli Nonis, also doubts whether locking the gates is the best way to slash crime.

“It seems counter-productive when anyone who wants to could just access the park through the gate by the city wall,” said Mr Nonis.

“If the proposal is to try to reduce crime, it would be more productive to have a patrol either of the police or a private security company overnight.

“I don’t think is a good use of public money - it won’t stop the problem”

An alternative plan was considered to close all entrances into the gardens, but the police opposed closing the city wall because of safety concerns.

Officers feared pedestrians using the alternative route around the ring-road might cross the dual carriageway.

It was previously reported an average of 47 crimes were recorded in Dane John Gardens each year - compared to 15 just in 2017.

Among the catalogue of offences in 2020 and 2021 were 65 for violence, including 30 assaults, six robberies and three attempted robberies.

And in papers recommending the trial be made permanent, city council bosses say: “The results of the survey suggest the closure has helped to reduce anti-social behaviour, and the police support this view.

“As such the trial has been successful in its primary aim and the recommendation is that an application is made to KCC for the experimental traffic order to be made permanent.

“Assuming the order is made permanent, an automated solution on opening and closing the gates will be explored.

“This would reduce ongoing revenue costs and potentially make it financially viable to close the gates seven days a week, if this was supported following a further consultation process.”

Councillors will debate whether to keep the gates shut at night on weekends at tonight’s overview and scrutiny committee meeting.

Their recommendation will be put before cabinet members for a final vote.