Safety Measures in the Park – not welcomed by all
In 2020 Kay Early was brutally attacked by a man in Alexandra Park while walking her dog, suffering severe injuries. The attack happened in broad daylight, and there were many people in the vicinity who came to her immediate rescue. However, she and her friend Claire Noble subsequently launched a crowdfunder petition, supported by nearly 20,000 signatories, for the installation of an Indigo Path running down the length of the park, to be fully surveilled by CCTV cameras and suitably lighted after dark, so that women and other vulnerable people could feel safe to walk the park alone.
Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne took up their case, and put in a bid for funding to the Home Office under their Safer Streets programme. In March 2022, Hastings Borough Council (HBC) as owners of the park received a grant in excess of £200,000 to undertake safety improvements.
Now, a year on, according to HBC, cameras have been installed “throughout the park” and lights have been installed along a path running within it near the boundary with St Helens Road. Maintenance contractors Idverde have also conducted a large clearance of vegetation – trees, shrubs and undergrowth – within the vicinity of the path. And that has not been to everyone’s satisfaction.
Dave Smith, a local resident who last year led the successful opposition to the installation of a cycleway through the park (rejected by a vote of the council in December – see below), complains that this clearance has gone far beyond a seasonal cutback and has involved the grubbing out of numerous mature and healthy trees and shrubs. The greenery which used to be a barrier to noise, pollution and visual intrusion from the traffic on St Helens Road, has been stripped away – for no useful purpose, in Mr Smith’s opinion. “Not that there’s anything we can do about it now, sadly.”
Local ward councillor Andy Batsford doesn’t agree, however. In a social media post responding to Mr Smith, he explained that trees had been cut back to allow street lighting and better visibility. “The officers and parks staff work so hard to retain our beautiful parks award status and would do nothing to put that at risk. Nothing sinister going on apart from works agreed to make the park safe for all. Like all pruning, it looks harsh but it will grow back and look great.”
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