Peterborough councillor hands out personal safety alarms to residents on parkway bridge amidst ongoing safety concerns in area

Bretton ward councillor (Labour) Richard Strangward has handed out personal safety alarms to a large number of residents in Bretton following concerns about attacks in the area.

Cllr Strangward was joined on the footbridge over the Soke Parkway, separating Peterborough City Hospital and Middleton by volunteers to hand out the alarms and listen to the concerns of residents.

A number of safety concerns have been raised by residents who say they do not feel safe crossing the bridge, as well of at least four reports of nurses being attacked in the last year walking home from work in the dark.

Cllr Strangward even got residents together in on October 2022 and took it upon themselves to clear trees and branches from the bridge after hearing of a hospital worker suffering serious injuries in an attack along the bridge.

Residents have met on a couple of occasions to cut back the foliage in the past year and Labour’s prospective parliamentary candidate for the city, Andrew Pakes, has said that residents will once again take action into their own hands if the bushes are not maintained correctly.

Cllr Strangward said: “People have been made to feel very uncomfortable walking over there.

“We spoke to a number of people and the thing that came across was that they didn’t feel safe walking across the bridge, they had to, but every single one said they were uncomfortable using it, particularly as it gets darker.

“We heard from people who have been followed or seen people hanging about on the bridge that has made them feel very uncomfortable. “

Among the aims for local campaigners, along with Cllr Strangward, who has met with representatives from the hospital, council and police to discuss a coordinated response to the issues. including installing CCTV in the area, improving the lighting and cutting down the bushes.

He added: “We’re looking for the bushes to be managed correctly rather than be allowed to grow. Last year, myself and a group of residents cut them down ourselves because it was becoming a real threat.

“If the bushes were cut down significantly, you could see if anyone was on the bridge or waiting on the other side but at the moment, you’re already on it before you can make a decision about turning back.

“We are going to push for proper lighting on the bridge and for CCTV on it. We are hoping to deter potential attackers. There is a lot of work to be done, people need to feel comfortable walking to and from work.

“I believe that a lot of people have felt very uncomfortable being followed but have not gone as far as telling the police.

"Some people perhaps don’t feel it’s serious enough of they don’t want to bother the police but we want to put the message across that every single one needs to be reported.”

A Peterborough City Council spokesperson said: “Several site visits have already taken place to assess what improvements could be made to improve lighting on the bridge including a meeting there last Thursday with police and hospital trust staff.

“The lighting columns on the A47 are the responsibility of National Highways and so we will be speaking to them to see if any changes could be made to how this section of the road is illuminated.

“The current lighting on the footbridge is in keeping with other footbridges across the city, however given the ongoing concerns we are looking into what could be done to help users feel safer when using it.”

Peterborough MP Paul Bristow has also joined calls for safety improvements in the area.