Chelmsford given £550k to tackle violence against females

The money will be used in Chelmsford several projects including improved street lighting and CCTV

Chelmsford has been given £550,000 from the Home Office to tackle violence against women and girls.

The money will be used in the Bunny Walks area, which was identified as a place where people, particularly females, felt unsafe.

Projects funded by the money include using football to engage with young people and improved street lighting.

Roger Hirst, Essex's police, fire and crime commissioner, said it would "make areas more inviting".

£164,753 will be spent on placing CCTV cameras with infrared technology in the Bunny Walks area and elsewhere in the city.

There will also be £40,000 spent on a digital engagement project in the same area, and £15,000 will be used for youth work.

Campaigner Karen Whybro said more needed to be done to prevent violence against women

Other projects include education on healthy relationships and consent at 17 schools in Chelmsford, and the expansion of the city's street pastor scheme.

The bid for the money was made by Mr Hirst, Chelmsford's Conservative MP, Vicky Ford, and Chelmsford City Council.

Council leader Stephen Robinson said: "We want Chelmsford to be a place where everyone, especially women and girls, can feel that they walk safely."

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Karen Whybro, an equality campaigner from Chelmsford, said it was "great the government realised that there needs to be funding to make the streets safer."

She said: "Street lighting and CCTV are there to capture something when it's already happened and it's not a preventative measure to help us be safer on the streets."

The campaigner, who launched a women's safety charter for the city, said she would "like to see some work on preventative measures rather than just on crime".

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