Successful funding bid will mean Safer Streets in Brighton & Hove
Streetlighting in the Old Steine area of the city is to be improved thanks to a successful funding bid to a fund designed to make our streets safer.
The council’s Transport and Community Safety teams worked with the Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner’s office to secure funding through the third round of the Safer Streets Fund, focused on making public spaces safer for women and girls.
£162,000 will be spent to upgrade and improve streetlighting in the Old Steine area of the city, adjacent to the Royal Pavilion and gardens.
Work will start immediately to update and improve lighting in and around the Old Steine, with further improvements to be made when phase 3 of the Valley Gardens project is delivered.
Funding will also be used to deliver healthy relationships, consent and misogyny, and toxic masculinity education sessions at 15 Brighton & Hove schools
It will also support running costs to the beach patrol which provides a roving beach safety service and provides support to those experiencing harassment.
More information on how the funding will be used across the county can be found on the Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner’s website.
Safer spaces for women and girls
Co-Chair of the council’s Tourism, Equalities, Communities and Culture committee Steph Powell said: “This is great news for improving the street lighting around the Old Steine area of the city that I know has been a concern for many people.
“We are committed to making public spaces safer for women and girls. The high-profile murders of Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa and sadly of many more women before and since, is a reminder of the constant risks faced by women, which as a society we must address.
"Together with work in our schools and along the seafront during key times, we’re determined to make the city safe and accessible for everyone.”
Police & Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne said: “Earlier this month my office secured nearly £1m from the Government’s latest Safer Streets fund to tackle violence against women and girls, the fourth highest amount of any area in the country to bring a lasting and effective response.
“In Brighton, this will help to improve street lighting and CCTV at the War Memorial, Old Steine and Pavilion Gardens, some of those areas identified as being of biggest concern to residents.
“My office will ensure we identify all available opportunities to channel funding to support the work of the police, local authorities and specialist organisations and will continue to work closely with our partners.
“The events of the past few weeks have rightly made us question whether we have a societal problem of male violence against women, so I applaud every effort being made to address it head-on. “