Paignton will benefit from a share of £1m to reduce antisocial behaviour (ASB) and violence against women and girls (VAWG).
Working with Torbay and Cornwall Councils, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly co-ordinated two applications to the Home Office’s Safer Streets fund, one for Paignton and a combined bid for Camborne and Redruth in Cornwall.
The Home Office announced that Paignton is to receive £545,000 and Camborne and Redruth will receive £454,000 in what is the fifth round of Safer Streets funding. A further £527,000 of match funding has been identified.
The money will be spent throughout the rest of the 2023-24 financial year and throughout 2024-25 on a range of interventions to reduce crime and disorder, with police, councils, businesses and community groups engaged in the work.
Both bid areas will benefit from investments including in community engagement and education, CCTV improvements, upgrades to street lighting and the additional staff appointed to focus on ASB.
In the last financial year, partners across Devon and Cornwall successfully secured more than £3m in Home Office Safer Street funding to deliver five place-based crime prevention projects. An additional £1m in local match funding was obtained to reduce VAWG-related crimes, prevent ASB and improve feelings of safety in public spaces.
In 2022, Torbay council was awarded £750,000 from the Government’s Safer Streets fund to carry out work and take action to discourage anti-social behaviour (ASB) and reduce violence against women and girls (VAWG) in Torquay.
The work which has taken place since then has been carried out with further match funding totalling over £375,000 from the council, the police and crime commissioner, the police and the Melville Community Group.
Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez said: “Safer Streets funding has improved CCTV, upgraded street lighting, paid for additional safety officer patrols and supported several community initiatives in locations including Torquay, Exeter, Falmouth, Plymouth, Barnstaple and Truro.
“I am delighted that communities in Paignton, Camborne and Redruth are now going to receive the attention they deserve. These vibrant and close-knit communities have relatively low recorded crime rates but they do face some challenges, particularly relating to ASB. No one should live in fear of crime or ASB and I look forward to working with partners on implementing some practical and hard-hitting solutions over the next year and a half.”
Councillor Hayley Tranter, Torbay Council’s Cabinet Member for Adult and Community Services, Public Health and Inequalities, said: “We’re pleased to have this funding making its way towards Paignton so soon after receiving similar Safer Streets resources for Torquay. It will really allow us to step up our efforts to tackle anti-social behaviour and violence against women and girls in Paignton town centre and make it a more welcoming place for all who live, work and visit there.
“It sits alongside the public and private sector funding and investment we’ve already drawn into Paignton, all of which is being used to enhance and improve public spaces, create new employment opportunities, and better connect the town centre.”
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