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Bobbies on the Seat
Bobbies on bikes are set to step up patrols on local cycle paths after being handed £3500 of funding.
Last October, the Lancaster district became one of six winning cycling demonstration towns to each receive funding from the Department of Transport, to encourage more people to get on their bikes.
To achieve this, the Cycling Demonstration Town Project was launched earlier this year with the vision of a cycle friendly city, coast and countryside and an aim to double cycling levels within the district by 2008.
The project also seeks to encourage as much community involvement as possible and local police have welcomed this.
In February, the Lancaster and Morecambe Neighbourhood Policing Teams applied for funding from the Cycling Demonstration Town Project to purchase eight new bikes as part of their own goal to increase the number of cycling patrols in the district’s town centres and cycle paths by 300%.
Their application was successful and will provide one electronically assisted and two pedal cycles for Lancaster patrols, three pedal cycles for Morecambe and two additional cycles to cover the West End Partnership area of Morecambe.
Commenting on the good news, Chief Inspector Julian Platt, said: “This is an excellent opportunity to further improve the quality of policing provided to the district. Using these bikes, beat officers and community support officers will be able to provide a highly visible and accessible service with the extra benefit of increased mobility not only on our streets but also the district’s cycleways and in turn reducing the fear of crime or possible victimisation while using these routes. The district has a large amount of cycle paths and cycle users and the new bikes will improve the policing of those areas. It is apparent that a number of criminals favour bikes as their preferred means of transport and this will assist us in targeting those individuals. I would very much like to thank the project and City Council for providing us with this opportunity.”
Coun Janice Hanson, member of the Cycling Demonstration Town Project Board said: “For people to enjoy cycling they need to feel safe. To know that police are patrolling cyclepaths alongside our cyclists is a huge step forward in promoting safer cycling in the district.”
Lancashire Constabulary are providing match funding by supplying staffing patrols and specialist cycling uniform clothing.
New Wheelie Bins
Lots of homes in the West End will shortly be receiving wheelie bins and recycle boxes. There are many benefits to the new system, such as, reducing the amount of rubbish that gets blown around the streets and back alleyways from ripped black refuse bags, and by using the recycling boxes everyone can contribute to reducing the amount of rubbish that is thrown away.
Winning Back Morecambe’s West End realise that not all homes are suitable for the new system because there are many flats that wouldn’t accommodate wheelie bins and boxes. Those properties will remain on the black bags.
Households moving to the new recycling system will receive an information pack soon which will have lots of information about what to put in which box or bin and there will also be a calendar telling you when to leave your bin out for collection. For more information about the scheme contact the freephone helpline on 0800 0929705.
The West End is My Business
Kids Corner
(Ofsted Registered and Approved Childminding Service)
Name: Debbie McHugh
Current position and responsibilities: Debbie runs Kids’ Corner, an Ofsted Registered and Approved Childminding service. She is CRB checked, referenced, inspected and trained in First Aid.
Debbie is also a qualified and experienced Nursery Nurse and has a five-year-old child of her own. Her knowledge and experience of educating children in nurseries and primary schools enables children to make a smooth transition from Kids’ Corner to starting school.
Hopes for the future of the West End: Debbie said “I have moved to Balmoral Road quite recently and I really discovered how much people care about the West End when my son and I took part in the recent Lantern Festival. I was moved by the spirit of the people involved and by the children’s achievements in terms of their fantastic performances, they must have been working very hard, after school for weeks! My hope is that these children continue to develop this community spirit and sense of pride in where they live; after all, they are the future of the West End.
For details of child places available now, telephone: 423973 or 07791733975.
Debbie McHugh
Kids’ Corner (Ofsted Registered and Approved Childminding Service)
136 Balmoral Road
Morecambe