Scunthorpe estate to benefit from funding to cut crime

The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Humberside (OPCC) has succeeded in a £550,000 bid to the Home Office Safer Streets Fund to improve the lives of residents living on the Westcliff estate in Scunthorpe. 

The funding aims to cut acquisitive crime such as burglary and robbery, making residents safer and improving the security of homes and the surrounding area. Following an evaluation process of a number of areas across the Humberside Police force area, the Brumby ward in Scunthorpe, which includes the Westcliff Estate, was found to meet the criteria specified by the Home Office.

The OPCC will be working in partnership with Ongo Homes, the largest housing provider in the area, on the delivery of the project over the next 12 months. Other key contributors in the bidding process were Humberside Police, North Lincolnshire Council and the Community Safety Partnership.

Some of the features of the project include; new entrance doors and video intercom systems in communal flats, secure cycle storage units, communal fencing and gates, and possibly redesigning the green corridors between the flats to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour. The funding also includes a £20,000 community fund to encourage residents to submit good ideas for smaller projects to make the area safer.

Police and Crime Commissioner Keith Hunter said: “This funding is the latest in a series of successful bids by my office to build safer communities. Today’s Safer Streets Fund announcement represents positive news for the Westcliff Estate, this funding will deliver initiatives that will prevent and reduce crimes such as burglary, theft and robbery and also encourage community involvement to benefit all who live there.”

Jan Williams, Head of Opportunities at Ongo said: “Since 2017 we’ve invested around £9m in Westcliff to build new homes, a community hub and bring much needed new services to the area.

“This is an ongoing commitment from Ongo and our partners, and we are over the moon to hear about the huge sum of funding the area will be awarded. It will empower local people and support our mission to create a safe place to live, work and thrive in. We are so excited be involved in the project and can’t wait to see the huge difference it will make.”

More information on the Safer Streets Fund can be found in the Home Office media release HERE