Ipswich given £500,000 from Safer Streets Fund to improve centre

Better lighting is to be installed in the subway at St Matthew's Street

Government funding is to be used to make improvements to the centre of Ipswich to help people feel safer at night.

Ipswich Borough Council was awarded a £500,000 grant from the Safer Streets Fund.

The money will go towards introducing measures such as better surveillance and lighting across the town.

Ipswich was awarded money from the fund for a third time and is the only council in Suffolk to benefit from it.

A contribution of £432,000 has also been made by Suffolk Constabulary, Suffolk's police and crime commissioner, Ipswich Central and the borough council.

The measures will include new CCTV, safe hubs at the waterfront, centre and university districts of the town and improved subway lighting at St Matthew's Street, reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Alasdair Ross, portfolio holder for community protection at the Labour-run council, said: "This winning bid will mean we can make many improvements in Ipswich that will make people feel more confident, particularly at night, in some of our central areas.

"We have overseen many improvements to make Ipswich safer but we can always do more and these new anti-crime measures will make Ipswich better for all - except criminals."