The zone was chosen by a Trading Standards officer after a resident was fleeced of more than £8,000 by a rogue trader who called at their door.
The trader offered to clean the gutters for £30, which was agreed.
However, upon starting the work they then claimed there was a broken tile on the roof, crumbling roof felt and the timber was damaged by water, and the resident ended up paying £8,150 by cheque.
Despite investigations, the trader was never traced although intelligence has been shared with other Trading Standards authorities and safeguarding is now in place for the victim, with their bank and family.
The new zone was formally launched with tea and cakes in a gathering of residents, councillors and police at the offices of Kessingland parish council.
Councillor Andrew Reid, Suffolk County Council Cabinet Member for Public Health and Public Protection, said:
“Doorstep cold callers can often turn out to be unscrupulous people who prey on the elderly and vulnerable in their homes, the very place where they should feel safest.
“No Cold Calling Zones work to deter that from happening by making it clear that residents in that zone will not deal with any trader who knocks on their door out of the blue.
“I applaud the hard work of the community and the organisers on coming together in this way. These zones are proven to have a deterrent effect and I am delighted that we now have 200 such schemes in place.”
A No Cold Calling Zone (NCCZ) is a nominated area where residents state they do not want traders to cold call at their homes.
They are set up if they meet criteria such as incidents of doorstep crime or distraction burglary, are a population more susceptible to doorstep crime, and are within a defined geographic area.
Residents in the nominated NCCZ area are consulted with and with their agreement a NCCZ is set up and an information pack, door sticker and street signage provided.
Trading Standards have set up the zones across Suffolk in partnership with residents, councillors, police and partners.
The zones have been designed to:
- Reduce doorstep crime and distraction burglaries
- Deter cold callers
- Educate residents and empower them not to engage with cold callers
The first zone was launched in Maryon Road and Grasmere Close in Ipswich in 2009 and there are now more than 9,700 properties in Suffolk covered by them.
Anyone wishing to nominate their road should go to the No Cold Calling page on the Suffolk County Council website.
