Have you seen this story in the Argus? Don't know how to link it, perhaps someone can help.
This was me and I had no idea about this area, you can imagine our shock at witnessing such a thing!
Here is a copy of my original letter of complaint to the council, police and the Argus:
On the 19th February during half term week my family and I visited Brighton Marina and because of the good weather we decided to walk into town, we often do this when visiting the city and our children enjoy the attractions both at the Marina and those along Madeira Drive.
We got to where the Volks railway starts and from here we’d normally walk the whole length of the seafront past the Pier but on this day we decided to take a detour to the upper esplanade, it was approximately 2pm and there were lots of people around as we walked through the pathways we now know to be Dukes Mound.
We approached a fork in the pathway where we could go further up the hill towards the upper esplanade or take the alternative route that would lead us back down the hill onto Madeira drive. Upon reaching the fork we looked up the path and were shocked to see two men engaging in anal sex, both had their trousers down to their ankles, one was on his knees leaning over a bench with the other standing behind him performing the sexual act. We were very shocked to see such a thing and they were equally shocked to see us, we quickly turned away and proceeded down the path taking us back onto Madeira drive.
We were appalled to witness such a thing in broad daylight on a public pathway, especially our 10 year old daughter who was traumatised for some time following the encounter.
We then walked the length of Madeira drive hoping to see the police but unfortunately didn’t see any so walked to John Street Police station where we reported it. The desk officer informed me that the area I described is known as Dukes Mound.
Having discussed this with friends and colleagues who are local people and who are familiar with this part of town, I am told that Dukes mound is a notorious spot for this type of behaviour and what we encountered that day wasn’t uncommon. It is known locally as a no-go area for families, despite being close to central Brighton and within a few yards of many family oriented attractions such as the Marina, Volks Railway, and Peter Pans playground. I also noted that to the east of the area a cafe is being built and advertised as opening soon!
I wasn’t sure if writing this letter and reporting it to the police was worth the effort, but to be informed that locals accept Dukes Mound as off-limits to a large demographic of decent people, I feel it’s worthwhile to do both. I do this in the hope that an effective visible resource is assigned to put a stop to it, especially during the day and during school holidays.
-----------------------------------------------
Since then I've had responses from the council and Jason Kitcat - Here's my reply to Jason
Thank you for taking the time to reply, I have and will continue to copy you into emails that I send or receive regarding this matter.
As well as contacting you and the police, I have also spoken to the Argus Newspaper who ran a story on this today, they have also put their own view across in their comments section.
I fully appreciate that resources are limited and I don’t expect this to improve for you or the police anytime soon. Perhaps the newly appointed police and crime commissioner has a resolution that’s better than “managed toleration”, after all two of her five priorities in her manifesto are – “visible & effective neighbourhood policing” and “tackling anti-social behaviour”.
You say “you don’t believe there is an easy permanent resolution to this issue”.
Your city clean department have informed me that it clears used condoms and lubrication containers every day from Dukes Mound, they also sweep the area three times a week and another department called City Parks have a similar cleaning schedule but they delve deeper into the shrubs.
How about this for an easy permanent resolution with the added value of saving a large resource from your city and park cleaning departments - Simply dig out all the bushes and open the area up, this will make the area easier to maintain, easier to police and people will be less inclined to use the area for public acts of indecency.
Seeing as there are long running concerns and tensions about the area then it’s got to be the right time for Brighton authority to do something tangible. My solution is simple and cheap and will mean that families like mine can continue to enjoy a day out in that part of Brighton and as a consequence businesses will invest even more in the area.
I am very interested to hear your comments in regard to this.
------------------------------
Here's another reply to the council
Thank you for your email and those of your colleagues, I appreciate your prompt response.
I have copied in all the people I have contacted so far so those who haven’t replied yet can keep up to speed.
Thankfully our daughters seem to be OK, my wife and I have tried very hard not to discuss it in front of them or to let it spoil their half term holiday. We wouldn’t know where to begin if they asked us to explain what we saw, but visiting the police station and taking private phone calls from people like journalists isn’t a normal few days for our family.
My wife feels sick to the stomach at any mention of the incident, her major concern is to protect our daughters and wishes we’d never gone anywhere near Dukes Mound.
In response to your email;
You state "that the council is aware that this area is sometimes used as a public sex environment at night, it is very unusual for this to happen during the day”
A quick Google search of “dukes mound” and you’ll find a variety of websites with those words in their content, the one at the very top of the list is called pinkuk.com, this site describes Dukes Mound as follows:
Located next to Brighton Marina Dukes mound stretches for about a quarter of a mile with lots of hiding places and a big temple at one end that's very popular. Popular 24 hours a day!
POPULAR 24 HOURS A DAY!
You also state: “We work very closely with Sussex Police to ensure that any sexual activity is dealt with quickly and appropriately to ensure that people can feel safe and free to walk through this area”.
In the review section for Dukes Mound on pinkuk.com:
Rupert here. Oh boy, what a time my mate and I had!. Ok, it was Pride weekend, so doubtless much busier than usual, but there were at least a hundred guys there--mostly in the 'Temple'. All sorts and some nice young ones. Police driving along the road below took not a blind bit of notice. A long walk from the James Street area of Brighton, but well worth it! The pathways down to the temple are not now so popular-- most of them are too brightly lit up for the purpose.
POLICE NOT TAKING A BLIND BIT OF NOTICE!
I feel that the authorities of Brighton are either naive or even worse, turning a blind eye to it. In reality websites are advertising Dukes Mound to the world as an alfresco un-policed 24 hour orgy! This is all going on within the shadow of family oriented attractions, sadly my family witnessed it first hand at 2pm during the half term holiday!
I am seriously not happy or convinced that you can/will do anything tangible to avoid this nasty incident occurring again and again. Instead of tolerating and accommodating acts of indecency you should be doing everything you can to eradicate it.
I am so incensed by this that I will do whatever I can within the boundaries of the law to ensure that the Brighton authorities deal with this appropriately, if I have to take this further up the flag pole I won’t hesitate to do so.
I look forward to your response and seriously hope you can give me some tangible evidence that you are taking this seriously.
-----------------
Thoughts please? We are all local people, how many would know not to walk through there with their family?
This was me and I had no idea about this area, you can imagine our shock at witnessing such a thing!
Here is a copy of my original letter of complaint to the council, police and the Argus:
On the 19th February during half term week my family and I visited Brighton Marina and because of the good weather we decided to walk into town, we often do this when visiting the city and our children enjoy the attractions both at the Marina and those along Madeira Drive.
We got to where the Volks railway starts and from here we’d normally walk the whole length of the seafront past the Pier but on this day we decided to take a detour to the upper esplanade, it was approximately 2pm and there were lots of people around as we walked through the pathways we now know to be Dukes Mound.
We approached a fork in the pathway where we could go further up the hill towards the upper esplanade or take the alternative route that would lead us back down the hill onto Madeira drive. Upon reaching the fork we looked up the path and were shocked to see two men engaging in anal sex, both had their trousers down to their ankles, one was on his knees leaning over a bench with the other standing behind him performing the sexual act. We were very shocked to see such a thing and they were equally shocked to see us, we quickly turned away and proceeded down the path taking us back onto Madeira drive.
We were appalled to witness such a thing in broad daylight on a public pathway, especially our 10 year old daughter who was traumatised for some time following the encounter.
We then walked the length of Madeira drive hoping to see the police but unfortunately didn’t see any so walked to John Street Police station where we reported it. The desk officer informed me that the area I described is known as Dukes Mound.
Having discussed this with friends and colleagues who are local people and who are familiar with this part of town, I am told that Dukes mound is a notorious spot for this type of behaviour and what we encountered that day wasn’t uncommon. It is known locally as a no-go area for families, despite being close to central Brighton and within a few yards of many family oriented attractions such as the Marina, Volks Railway, and Peter Pans playground. I also noted that to the east of the area a cafe is being built and advertised as opening soon!
I wasn’t sure if writing this letter and reporting it to the police was worth the effort, but to be informed that locals accept Dukes Mound as off-limits to a large demographic of decent people, I feel it’s worthwhile to do both. I do this in the hope that an effective visible resource is assigned to put a stop to it, especially during the day and during school holidays.
-----------------------------------------------
Since then I've had responses from the council and Jason Kitcat - Here's my reply to Jason
Thank you for taking the time to reply, I have and will continue to copy you into emails that I send or receive regarding this matter.
As well as contacting you and the police, I have also spoken to the Argus Newspaper who ran a story on this today, they have also put their own view across in their comments section.
I fully appreciate that resources are limited and I don’t expect this to improve for you or the police anytime soon. Perhaps the newly appointed police and crime commissioner has a resolution that’s better than “managed toleration”, after all two of her five priorities in her manifesto are – “visible & effective neighbourhood policing” and “tackling anti-social behaviour”.
You say “you don’t believe there is an easy permanent resolution to this issue”.
Your city clean department have informed me that it clears used condoms and lubrication containers every day from Dukes Mound, they also sweep the area three times a week and another department called City Parks have a similar cleaning schedule but they delve deeper into the shrubs.
How about this for an easy permanent resolution with the added value of saving a large resource from your city and park cleaning departments - Simply dig out all the bushes and open the area up, this will make the area easier to maintain, easier to police and people will be less inclined to use the area for public acts of indecency.
Seeing as there are long running concerns and tensions about the area then it’s got to be the right time for Brighton authority to do something tangible. My solution is simple and cheap and will mean that families like mine can continue to enjoy a day out in that part of Brighton and as a consequence businesses will invest even more in the area.
I am very interested to hear your comments in regard to this.
------------------------------
Here's another reply to the council
Thank you for your email and those of your colleagues, I appreciate your prompt response.
I have copied in all the people I have contacted so far so those who haven’t replied yet can keep up to speed.
Thankfully our daughters seem to be OK, my wife and I have tried very hard not to discuss it in front of them or to let it spoil their half term holiday. We wouldn’t know where to begin if they asked us to explain what we saw, but visiting the police station and taking private phone calls from people like journalists isn’t a normal few days for our family.
My wife feels sick to the stomach at any mention of the incident, her major concern is to protect our daughters and wishes we’d never gone anywhere near Dukes Mound.
In response to your email;
You state "that the council is aware that this area is sometimes used as a public sex environment at night, it is very unusual for this to happen during the day”
A quick Google search of “dukes mound” and you’ll find a variety of websites with those words in their content, the one at the very top of the list is called pinkuk.com, this site describes Dukes Mound as follows:
Located next to Brighton Marina Dukes mound stretches for about a quarter of a mile with lots of hiding places and a big temple at one end that's very popular. Popular 24 hours a day!
POPULAR 24 HOURS A DAY!
You also state: “We work very closely with Sussex Police to ensure that any sexual activity is dealt with quickly and appropriately to ensure that people can feel safe and free to walk through this area”.
In the review section for Dukes Mound on pinkuk.com:
Rupert here. Oh boy, what a time my mate and I had!. Ok, it was Pride weekend, so doubtless much busier than usual, but there were at least a hundred guys there--mostly in the 'Temple'. All sorts and some nice young ones. Police driving along the road below took not a blind bit of notice. A long walk from the James Street area of Brighton, but well worth it! The pathways down to the temple are not now so popular-- most of them are too brightly lit up for the purpose.
POLICE NOT TAKING A BLIND BIT OF NOTICE!
I feel that the authorities of Brighton are either naive or even worse, turning a blind eye to it. In reality websites are advertising Dukes Mound to the world as an alfresco un-policed 24 hour orgy! This is all going on within the shadow of family oriented attractions, sadly my family witnessed it first hand at 2pm during the half term holiday!
I am seriously not happy or convinced that you can/will do anything tangible to avoid this nasty incident occurring again and again. Instead of tolerating and accommodating acts of indecency you should be doing everything you can to eradicate it.
I am so incensed by this that I will do whatever I can within the boundaries of the law to ensure that the Brighton authorities deal with this appropriately, if I have to take this further up the flag pole I won’t hesitate to do so.
I look forward to your response and seriously hope you can give me some tangible evidence that you are taking this seriously.
-----------------
Thoughts please? We are all local people, how many would know not to walk through there with their family?
