Published: Wednesday, 17th August 2022

More than £200,000 will be spent in Medway to help residents feel even safer.

The Kent Police and Crime Commissioner, Matthew Scott, has been successful in his bid for £1.4million funding from the Home Office Safer Streets Initiative which will help improve parts of Canterbury, Gravesham, Maidstone and areas in Chatham, Luton and Rochester.

Medway will receive £203,230 to continue some of the work undertaken through Safer Streets projects including more activities for children, young people and families ranging from creative workshops, soft play, seasonal and community events as well as inclusive sports sessions and further active bystander training, which teaches people how to intervene in different situations.

The funding will also be used to replace 18 bins in Chatham and Luton as well as community projects to tackle neighbourhood crime, anti-social behaviour, including graffiti, vandalism, and litter. We will be improving CCTV at the Rochester multi-storey car park and treating the stairwells with anti-graffiti paint.

The funding follows successful Safer Streets schemes across Medway which have included crime prevention initiatives and engagement events, tackling fly-tipping and graffiti and lighting projects including new solar powered lights in Victoria Gardens in Chatham.

In Rochester, local businesses joined the ‘Safe Spaces’ scheme which offers people a place of safety if they are feeling unwell, lost, confused or have been a victim of crime. This scheme is currently being rolled out across Medway.

These examples are just some of the many initiatives that have been funded by the Safer Streets scheme.

We will continue to work with a range of partners including the Medway Task Force, Kent Police and Medway Community Safety Partnership on the new initiatives.

Helping residents feel even safer and love where they live

Cllr Adrian Gulvin, Medway Council’s Portfolio Holder for Resources and Chairman of the Medway Community Safety Partnership, said: “We are delighted that Medway has received more funding from the Home Office’s Safer Streets Initiative. We will continue to work with our colleagues at Kent Police and the Medway Task Force to build on the success of our previous Safer Streets projects and help people in Luton, Chatham and Rochester feel even safer and love where they live.”

Expanding on the good work across Medway

The Kent Police and Crime Commissioner, Matthew Scott, said, “I’m absolutely delighted we have secured this funding. I’ve seen the difference previous Safer Streets Programmes have made to our communities and I’m thrilled we can expand that good work across Kent and Medway. From new Safe Spaces to improved lighting, we want to make our town centres feel safe for everyone. I would like to thank all our partners for working so hard on this and I look forward to seeing the results over the next 18 months.”

An even safer place to live, work and visit

District commander for Medway, Chief Inspector Shona Lowndes said: “The Safer Streets funding has enabled a number of projects and initiatives to come to fruition to help make Medway an even safer place to live, work and visit. This latest funding is really welcome and will ensure many more people within the community will continue to benefit from this scheme.”

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