SNG and partners to invest Home Office grant at the Nightingales estate in Newbury
Residents living in the Nightingales area of Newbury can look forward to a major investment aimed at reducing crime and offering constructive activities for younger residents.
The Safer Streets Fund was set up by the Home Office to invest in a range of situational crime prevention measures in local communities. The funding of £299,000 will go towards a range of measures proven to prevent antisocial behaviour in this area of Newbury.
SNG in collaboration with West Berkshire Council, Thames Valley Police and Berkshire Youth, worked hard to secure the funding. It will be used to empower housing customers and the wider community in the Nightingale estate with a close focus on the younger people that live there.
The funding will focus on providing a range of measures between now and April 2025. These include:
- weekly outreach youth work
- Neighbourhood Guardians, to offer a uniformed presence on the estate
- three community clear up days
- new closed circuit TV cameras
- school workshops
This investment is aimed at helping empower the community, and young people in particular, to make informed decisions and manage situations where others may negatively influence them.
Kate Rees, SNG’s Locality Manager for Newbury said: “This funding is great news and a very positive and exciting opportunity to make a real change for our customers living in this area of Newbury.
“By working in partnership - in particular, with schools - we can help improve the community’s opportunities to make positive choices around their future direction.
“Community clear up days will also encourage residents to improve their environment and enjoy where they live as well as opening constructive activities to engage local young people.”
The first community clear up day will be during half term holiday on Tuesday 13 February, between 10am and 3pm at the Greenham Community Centre, The Nightingales. The community can dispose of rubbish and bulky waste in skips and enjoy free activities for children and young people by qualified youth workers. A coffee and catering vehicle will provide free refreshments and snacks. A variety of local services including the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (with a fire engine) will attend to advise local residents.
The funding means that this will be the first in a series of local community events made possible by the Home Office grant.
Daisy Mummery, External Funding Specialist at SNG, added: “This project is a great example of how external funding can be used to enhance our support to customers and communities with partnership working. We hope to use this model of investment to apply for funding in other communities where we have similar priorities.”