STREET safety is the focus of a new public consultation sparked by the tragic killing of Sarah Everard in March.
Stratford District Council (SDC) wants to hear from residents – particularly women and girls – to help secure funding from the Government’s Safe Streets Fund.
To provide enhanced safety of public spaces, the Government announced an additional £25million for the fund, with an emphasis on improving the safety of public spaces for females.
The move comes after 33-year-old Sarah Everard from South London, was kidnapped and raped by former police officer Wayne Couzens, as she walked home one evening. Her body was found in woodland, in Kent, a week later.
The third round of the Safer Streets Fund opened in early June, providing an opportunity to bid up to £550,000 from the fund.
It aims to reduce violence against women and girls and increase both safety and feelings of safety in public spaces, as well as improve on national and local recording and reporting of incidents.
The survey itself aims to understand public feelings of safety in Stratford – where people feel safe and where they do not, and what can be done to improve safety in particular areas.
Anyone can take part in the survey, but SDC is particularly interested in the views of women and girls.
Earlier in the year, Stratford resident Chloe Fojtik, was among those campaigning for safer streets following the Sarah Everard case.
The 22-year-old launched a petition campaigning Warwickshire County Council to keep the county streets fully lit all night, rather than only partly lit – a move introduced to save on electricity in 2013.
Nearly 4,000 people signed the petition which will be debated by Warwickshire County Council this week.
Visit online1.snapsurveys.com/s/saferstreets take part in the district survey before Thursday July 11.
