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BED:SAFE

Bed:Safe was launched at the Charles Wells Brewery on Friday March 7th. The launch took place at the recently opened Eagle Centre - a new purpose built training facility on site at the brewery.

Bed:Safe is a wide-ranging partnership project which has funding for at least the next three years. Through a number of different strategies Bed:Safe aims to reduce town centre crime and violence and reduce local people’s fear of crime, making a night out in Bedford a pleasant experience for all.

Key speakers at the launch included Bedford Borough Council Mayor Frank Branston, Bedford police boss Chief Superintendent Steve Battle, Charles Wells Managing Director Paul Wells and Patrick Hall, MP for Bedford and Kempston.

Alongside Charles Wells Brewery, managers and staff from town centre pubs, clubs and shops will join representatives from Bedford Borough Council, Bedfordshire Police, Beds County Council, MPs, the Drug Action Team, local charities and voluntary organisations to work together to promote a higher degree of social responsibility within Bedford town centre.

Bed:Safe has been established by the North Beds Community Safety Partnership, which is made up of Bedford Borough Council, Bedfordshire County Council, the police and other local agencies. Together the partnership will work with the Town Centre Company, Licensed Vituallers Association and Charles Wells brewery to improve night time Bedford.

Funding has been secured from the Home Office and a £35,000 grant from the borough
council to fund the appointment of a Bed:Safe project co-ordinator.


Bedford’s new scheme has been given advice from the very successful Manchester ‘City Centre Safe’ initiative which has reduced serious assault levels in Manchester’s city centre by 17% and has made a significant impact on alcohol related crime.

Key issues to be tackled in the coming months include:

· Signing up local pubs and clubs to a “Hosts Charter” to encourage licensees to take a proactive approach to minimising town centre trouble

· Introducing a NiteNet walkie talkie system to give landlords early warning of troublemakers and flare-ups

· Establishing “safe routes home” by tackling night-time transport problems.


Gill Anderson, Bed:Safe’s co-ordinator says:

“Bed:Safe is a tremendous opportunity for Bedford to really clean up its act. It’s a chance for all the agencies to work together rather than struggling to achieve things on their own. Individually we all do good work but together we can really make a big difference.”

Of Bedford town centre problems she says: “One of the reasons the town has had more problems in recent years is the changing drinking culture. Young drinkers crowd into town centre pubs. We want people to have a fun night out but be sensible at the same time and take care of their friends. That’s one of the key messages we will be trying to get across with Bed:Safe.”

Working with licensees is an important step too. Bedford Borough Council’s service manager for licensing and registration, Keith Simmons, says:

“We are pleased that Charles Wells brewery and all other town licensees are supporting the Bed:Safe scheme because we believe by working with the licensed trade we can begin to influence today’s drinking culture.”

Paul Wells, Managing Director of Charles Wells brewery adds:

“Charles Wells brewery is totally committed to this new scheme. We are delighted to be involved in an initiative that is aimed at addressing these issues which will result in a safer and more vibrant night time economy in Bedford.

We have watched with interest the changes made to the Manchester city centre drinking culture and are confident that we can successfully address problems here in Bedford.”



FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CALL
CHARLES WELLS PR MANAGER
SARAH McGHIE ON 01234 279216

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