Town safety a priority for new business chief

Lee Walker said he wanted to improve the perception of the town

Improving a sense of safety and celebrating the "gems" hidden in a town were among the top priorities for the new chief executive of Ipswich Central Business Improvement District (BID).

Lee Walker, who took over the role in the Suffolk town on 1 July, said he also wanted to give people a reason to visit the area.

His comments came after some residents said they felt shop closures let down the historic town.

Mr Walker said: "I am proud to be from Ipswich and to call it home. Town and city centres are changing across the country - it doesn't mean they have to change for the worst.

"It means we have to be honest and responsive to what consumers, residents want from a place. Ipswich has some amazing gems in it."

He said the promotion of Ipswich Town to the Premier League was also an opportunity to continue reinvigorating the town.

He said his priorities were to make the town "cleaner and feel safer than ever".

"We invest really heavily in a street security presence for the town," he added.

"That means a team of individuals who work with the business and work every day for the businesses to ensure those crimes, that too often get called low-level, and are often the start of often, more prolific crimes.

"We tackle shoplifting and to date this year they've already deterred £50,000 of shop theft."

Mr Walker praised the town's "amazing community and businesses" highlighting that they range from small independent shops to a Premier League football team.

Earlier this month, candidates standing in the Ipswich seat at the general election said they would work to improve the town centre.