Communities First tackle graffiti in Brackla
The Visible Unpaid Work Team recently undertook a graffiti removal exercise along a busy walkway in Brackla in response to concern from local residents. The project was managed by Communities First, working alongside community members and local agencies included in the Safer Bridgend Community Safety Partnership.
In addition to the removal of graffiti, Communities First ensured the area, which is widely used by many local people, was cleared of drug related litter, fly-tipping and general litter. It was also landscaped which reduced foliage to improve lighting and security, and there have been increased patrols in the vicinity by South Wales Police officers and PCSOs.
Safer Bridgend Community Safety and Welfare Officer Emma-Louise Maher said: “Unpaid work is a highly visible initiative, carried out by supervised offenders, performed in local communities in response to local concerns.”
“We are happy with the success of the work undertaken by the unpaid work team which has greatly improved an area of Brackla where we had received a high number of reports about anti-social behaviour, graffiti and litter. They work to specific targets with measurable, visible results. These improvements are not only good for the wellbeing of the community, but residents can also see that justice is being done in a visible and rigorous way.”
Communities First is the Welsh Assembly Government's flagship programme to improve the living conditions and prospects for people in the most disadvantaged communities across Wales. It is new and different in a number of ways in the fact that it is a long term programme which will run for at least 10 years and local people themselves decide what is needed and are helped to make it happen.
Communities First aims to bring in funding and support from a range of sources to make things happen, get local people involved in improving their areas and their own prospects, make sure improvements last, encourage flexibility, risk-taking and new ways of dealing with problems and involve everyone working together to identify and do something about their community's problems.
For more information visit: www.communities-first.org