Welcome to Winning Back Morecambe's West End

Crime-busters and grime-busters are joining forces in an effort to make our streets safer.

The West End of Morecambe was the first area locally to benefit from a new scheme which sees experts from a number of local bodies taking to the streets to look for areas for improvement.

Those taking part in the 'Environmental Visual Audit' last month were; local police officers, fire safety officers, street wardens, representatives from Winning Back Morecambe’s West End, the West End Partnership, and Lancaster City Council’s Cleansing Dept.


Teams of four took to the streets and were looking for items such as discarded needles, broken windows or any clear signs of criminal damage such as fly tipping, dog fouling, graffiti or vandalism. At the same time the experts dealt with people on the streets acting in an anti-social manner.

The audit was organised by Sgt Andy Williams as part of Lancashire Constabulary’s Neighbourhood Policing Plan.

He said: "Environmental Visual Audits identify local signs of crime, and, physical and social disorder. By identifying these problems we can then act on them to create a safe and secure neighbourhood for local residents. This can only be done by working alongside other agencies, such as; the Fire & Rescue Service and Lancaster City Council. This day offered all of the organisations taking part a highly visible presence on the streets which provided us with tremendous feedback from residents."

He added: "We also had a number of instant hits, where we were able to deal with the issues there and then. Five arrests were made during the day, an abandoned vehicle on Sefton Road was crushed and removed, a fire appliance removed an unsafe chimney pot and the Arson Reduction Vehicle was collecting hazardous dumped rubbish.

It was an extremely successful day and the audit will now become a regular occurrence in the West End."

The results from this audit will form the basis of an improvement plan which will also monitor the progress of any action taken.

Wasteland on Kilnbank estate has been transformed into a playground for youngsters with a climbing frame, see saw and even more spectacular are the talking flowers!

There used to be a playground here many years ago, but it was neglected and became derelict. Thanks to the tremendous work of a few organisations and local residents, local kids now have a fantastic adventure playground to call their own. The area has been resurfaced with safety flooring and is surrounded by a dog-proof fence. There is a colourful climbing frame with rope ladders and a slide, a see saw, hop scotch and the talking flowers allow children to speak into the flower head and their voice is amplified across the playground.

Housing Association. A successful bid for £25,000 was submitted to ‘Living Spaces’ by the Harbour Resident’s Association and the West End Forum. Local residents were consulted on how they would like the play area designed, and the result is fantastic, so well done to all who contributed their ideas.