BCP Council investment will see cleaner, greener and safer town centres
The initiative includes £100,000 being invested to further support CCTV, with an additional £60,000 for increased CCTV monitoring
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council says it will invest £3.1 million into enhanced street cleaning, additional CCTV, Community Support Officers, and pothole repairs this year as part of its Cleaner, Greener, Safer initiative.
Cleaner, Greener, Safer is a BCP Council-led scheme aimed to encourage pride of place for residents.
Key elements for investment across the three town centres include:
- £453,000 into street cleansing, including a new litter bin strategy and deploying additional street cleansing teams. This will cover bin replacements, sign cleaning, weed control and furniture painting.
- £600,000 into Highways to fund pothole repairs, safety fencing and bollards. BCP Council teams currently fix around 11,000 defects and aspire to speed up response times to issues identified by inspectors and reports from the public.
- £100,000 is being invested to further support CCTV in urban areas, with an additional £60,000 for increased CCTV monitoring.
- £15,000 for signage, to better communicate ways in which communities can get involved with Cleaner, Greener, Safer and report any issues.
- £500,000 in additional CSAS resources to provide focus on tackling anti-social behaviour across the conurbation until April 2023.
- £100,000 will be invested in a Safer Improvement Fund that will look at improvements to make the public realm safer.
Cllr Nicola Greene, Portfolio Holder for Council Priorities and Delivery, said: “I am delighted to see a renewed investment in Cleaner, Greener, Safer for this year. This will focus on addressing some key issues that we know matter most to our residents. We’ve already taken some significant steps and have identified priority areas for this year.
“We all want to make sure that everyone can be proud of the places they live, work and visit. Our councillors and most of our officers are also residents, who take immense pride in their work. To help achieve our goals, we’ll also be looking to plan some community action days across our area in the Spring and encourage people to report issues in their local area online.”
Launched last year, BCP Council’s Cleaner, Greener Safer aims to lead communities across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole towards a cleaner, more sustainable and safer future.
It has already begun recruiting additional CSAS officers to extend patrols across its areas, increased street cleaning operations, and improving biodiversity by creating wild meadows in targeted areas.