Latest news with #DavidChildsClarke
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Police aim to tackle crime on 'stigmatised' estate
Police have said there is work going on to tackle crime in an area portrayed by some media as a "notorious estate". Penhill in Swindon has been described as "stigmatised" and has already been identified by police as an anti-social behaviour (ASB) hotspot. Wiltshire Police have more foot patrols and mobile police station visits, as well as specialist services to target young people most at risk of committing crime or becoming a victim. Local pastor David Childs-Clarke said: "People in Penhill often think of themselves as being considered less than other parts of Swindon." He wants to see the estate's reputation reversed: "One of the reasons people struggle in Penhill is because there's a reputation associated with being in one of the areas beginning with P." The pastor of Penhill Community Church believes that cleaning up and fixing things in the area would help to show it was loved. He is not the only one who feels like this. Christine, who struggles to walk, said "things don't get done", such as fixing pavements and cutting back hedges. "I can't go out without someone being with me, in case I fall." One of the ways a clean-up might happen is in the form of a big cash injection - Penhill has been named by Chancellor Rachel Reeves as a deprived area which will get up to £20m to spend in the community over the next decade. Local Labour MP Will Stone will be setting up community forums. "I'm been told to get my skates and start working as quickly as possible. "It has to be community-led." Meanwhile, Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson hopes residents will start to feel safer with more visible policing in Penhill. A Safer Streets Summer initiative has also just launched - not just in Swindon, but in Salisbury, Trowbridge, Chippenham and Marlborough as well. It means additional patrols in known hotspot areas and increased enforcement of public space protection orders. More news stories for Wiltshire Listen to the latest news for Wiltshire Mr Wilkinson said: "Being safe and feeling safe are two different things, and I recognise those really valid feelings that some residents will have who live and work in those areas of Swindon." He added that they are working with others to "address the root causes of crime and gang culture". Yvonne is worried about safety: "My family don't want me going out in the dark." Her and her friend Doreen told the BBC they see a lot of police cars, but would like to see police on the streets. Kerrie Barrett, from the Penhill Chronic Pain Group, is a bit more positive. She said lots of people do like living there because of a good community spirit. With the money, she said they could "help more people; the elderly, the people struggling with pain, young families are a big thing as well". Vicky Edwards is part of the same group: "For me, growing up in Penhill was always safe. There's not enough for the kids to do any more." Follow BBC Wiltshire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. 'People here see themselves as less important'
BBC News
3 days ago
- BBC News
'Stigmatised' Swindon estate is anti-social behaviour hotspot
Police have said there is work going on to tackle crime in an area portrayed by some media as a "notorious estate".Penhill in Swindon has been described as "stigmatised" and has already been identified by police as an anti-social behaviour (ASB) Police have more foot patrols and mobile police station visits, as well as specialist services to target young people most at risk of committing crime or becoming a pastor David Childs-Clarke said: "People in Penhill often think of themselves as being considered less than other parts of Swindon." He wants to see the estate's reputation reversed: "One of the reasons people struggle in Penhill is because there's a reputation associated with being in one of the areas beginning with P."The pastor of Penhill Community Church believes that cleaning up and fixing things in the area would help to show it was loved. He is not the only one who feels like this. Christine, who struggles to walk, said "things don't get done", such as fixing pavements and cutting back hedges."I can't go out without someone being with me, in case I fall." One of the ways a clean-up might happen is in the form of a big cash injection - Penhill has been named by Chancellor Rachel Reeves as a deprived area which will get up to £20m to spend in the community over the next Labour MP Will Stone will be setting up community forums."I'm been told to get my skates and start working as quickly as possible."It has to be community-led." Meanwhile, Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson hopes residents will start to feel safer with more visible policing in Penhill.A Safer Streets Summer initiative has also just launched - not just in Swindon, but in Salisbury, Trowbridge, Chippenham and Marlborough as well. It means additional patrols in known hotspot areas and increased enforcement of public space protection orders. Mr Wilkinson said: "Being safe and feeling safe are two different things, and I recognise those really valid feelings that some residents will have who live and work in those areas of Swindon."He added that they are working with others to "address the root causes of crime and gang culture". Yvonne is worried about safety: "My family don't want me going out in the dark."Her and her friend Doreen told the BBC they see a lot of police cars, but would like to see police on the Barrett, from the Penhill Chronic Pain Group, is a bit more said lots of people do like living there because of a good community the money, she said they could "help more people; the elderly, the people struggling with pain, young families are a big thing as well".Vicky Edwards is part of the same group: "For me, growing up in Penhill was always safe. There's not enough for the kids to do any more."
BBC News
18-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
The 'stigmatised' Penhill estate in Swindon getting cash boost
Penhill estate in Swindon has been named by Chancellor Rachel Reeves as a deprived area which will get up to £20m to spend in the community over the next decade. Ahead of the full details of how the scheme will operate, BBC News spoke to local residents, campaigners, community leaders and politicians about what they would like to see change."The stigmatisation of Penhill has been drastic over the last 30 years," said Di Pithers, a volunteer youth worker, street rep, and campaigner for the estate she grew up on."We have no investment in Penhill. Nobody puts a value on our children, our young adults, our disabled, our elderly," she Pithers hit back against what residents are all too aware is a negative reputation."Unless you know the area you won't understand the community spirit that we have," she Pithers is one of several people I speak to who bring up the same local anecdote - "people don't want to go to any of the places beginning with P" in this, they mean the traditional council estates of Pinehurst, Parks and Penhill."One of the reasons people struggle in Penhill is because there's a reputation associated with being in one of the areas beginning with P," echoed pastor of Penhill Community Church, David Childs-Clarke. "People in Penhill often think of themselves as being considered less than other parts of Swindon - as a church we do try and counter that message," he said."Anything that the government can do to help the reputation of an area will do something positive, to help people with their sense of identity," he Childs-Clarke warned "deprivation probably can't be solved just with money" but said "if an area looks untidy and looks unloved then people don't love it, there are some things financially that could be done to tidy up the area".Penhill was built up from the 1960s, a new estate of council houses and tower blocks set amongst plenty of green in typical household income, quality of health, level of education, child poverty and life expectancy, Penhill comes out among the most deprived in the region. "It's about time Penhill had something put in place for it," said resident Marie Eagle, how the community responded following house fires, she said: "Penhill were there straight away, they rallied round, got furniture, clothing - not many people would do that.""I know it's got a bad rep but not everyone is tarred with the same brush," she she chats about the new cash to her friend Thelma Rees, 74, they say they hope some of the money can be used to bring back free family amenities, like the former community paddling pool."We need a bus that goes from here to the Orbital shopping centre, traffic calming, and it would be nice if we had a bobby that came around once in while," Ms Rees Swindon's Labour MP, Will Stone, said he was "so pleased" Penhill was going to get the support it "desperately" needed. "The timeline will be over the next couple of years, I don't want to get expectations too high and say 'tomorrow you'll get a cash injection into Penhill' because it is going to take time, I want this to be right," he added."Investing in community centres, leisure facilities, and education" would be his personal priority for the cash. 'Is there a caveat?' Asked where she thinks the cash should be spent, volunteer Ms Pithers said: "I want to see provisions for our children and everybody else in Penhill so we've got something to bring up the levels of deprivation we live in."With worries about her youth club being at risk of being kicked out of its existing building, the local doctors surgery only opening three days a week, and only one luncheon club for elderly people, she has a long list of things the money could be spent with all the optimism, she does have her doubts."I am concerned, is there a caveat to receiving this money? It's up to £20m, but we might only get £1m," she said. Penhill was listed among 25 of the government's new "trailblazer neighbourhoods" to be allocated funding by Reeves in the spending review last week. Detailed guidance on how the bid will be put together has not yet been published, but the government said it was working toward money starting to arrive from April 2026.A spokesperson for the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government said communities like Penhill had "been starved of investment and left behind".They said the money would come over the next decade to "boost growth, regenerate our communities and deliver real change people can see on their doorstep".
