Swindon council asking what would make residents feel safe

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The council wants to hear from people about how safe they feel on Swindon's streets. 

This comes after women and girls were asked to complete a short survey last year about how they felt walking in public around the town. 

The council says the responses from that survey helped them secure £550,000 from the Government’s Safer Streets fund, to introduce measures aimed at tackling violent crime and harassment against women and girls.

Read: £1m plan to make Swindon town centre safer for women and girls

But they are now seeking further thoughts and feelings about what people think needs to be done with that money to make them feel safer.

"The Partnership has now teamed up with Voluntary Action Swindon (VAS) and other local organisations to once again ask for your thoughts on what would make you feel safer in Swindon," the council said in a post on its Facebook page. 

"We’ll then use your feedback to help us understand what further action needs to be taken to make the biggest difference, and help us apply for even more funding."

Read: WATCH: Women afraid to walk Swindon streets because of broken streetlights

Previously, several woman in Swindon spoke to The Adver about their fears when walking through certain areas of the town and highlighted there was often an issue with street lights being out and not repaired quickly enough making areas darker and more intimidating. 

Other areas of concern were increases in anti-social behaviour, with large groups congregating in certain areas like Swindon's town centre, causing concern to members of the public and keeping them away from those areas. 

Swindon Advertiser:

To address this the council is asking for people to fill out one of two new surveys, depending on age-group. 

"We’re asking people of all ages, genders and backgrounds to share their feedback, but have two different surveys, depending on your age."

If you are under 18, then fill out this survey http://ow.ly/C1hG50I8cnb

And over 18s should fill out this one http://ow.ly/EJcQ50I8cna

Both surveys will be open until Wednesday, 23 March and are completely anonymous.

Over the past year, the council has working on plans to introduce measures to keep residents safe. Click here for the latest update on what it is doing with the Safer Streets funding it has received so far.

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