Extra lighting and CCTV to be added to this Portsmouth alley to help create a safe walkway for school children and pedestrians

Belmont path, located between Scoops Gelato ice cream shop and Chinese takeaway Woks Wong on Elm Grove, is set to undergo a ‘facelift’ as part of the safer streets scheme, which targets crime hotspots.

As a result additional lighting has been added in the alley and new CCTV cameras will be installed early next month. The alley is also being made more pleasant with greening and professional street art.

Community safety boss at the council, Councillor Dave Ashmore, said: ‘Belmont path is right by the popular bars and restaurants along Elm Grove.

‘By improving lighting and adding CCTV, we hope that people will feel more confident when travelling through this area. We want residents to be proud of this city, and I love the fact that we will have modern new street art that celebrates the local people of Portsmouth.’

To brighten up the alley talented artists Anna Potten, Clare Jefferson-Jones, and Amber Jefferson-Grant have developed a series of collages by working with more 200 local people – including Year 5 students from Cottage Grove Primary School, ex-students and local traders.

The collages were based on photographs taken by students at Cottage Grove Primary School and will be on display for all to enjoy by the end of the month.

Cllr Lynne Stagg, Portsmouth City Council’s transport boss, added: ‘I'm so pleased that this alley is being cleaned up and given a facelift. It's an easy shortcut for so many people including parents and carers of pupils at Cottage Grove Primary School.

‘I hope the improvements will mean that they can feel safe and secure using this route. All the bins will be moved soon, which means people won't struggle to get buggies down there.

‘We want residents to be proud of this city, and to move around it freely.’

These improvements are being delivered in partnership with the Hampshire Police Crime Commissioner, funded through a Home Office's safer streets three grant totalling £648,755 for the whole area.

Crime commissioner Donna Jones said: ‘This is another important step in making Hampshire and the Isle of Wight a safer place to live, work and visit.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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