Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner Caroline Henry has secured £550,000 in Home Office funding, which will help to make women and girls feel safer on the streets of Ashfield.

It will fund improvement work to gate off the alleyway at Bentick and Welbeck Street, Sutton, and the development of a Safe Space Accreditation scheme for local businesses, supporting them with 4G or WIFI CCTV and training staff to help them support women who seek temporary refuge when they are feeling vulnerable.

The money will also  fund new CCTV cameras, extra ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) technology to identify offenders, better street lighting and environmental improvement work as well as additional enforcement and high-visibility policing patrols in crime hotspots.

Commissioner Henry said: “As Police and Crime Commissioner, I continue to work hard to ensure everyone in Ashfield feels safe. To this end, I have been leading this bid including close engagement with both Police and partners in Ashfield to maximise Nottinghamshire’s share of this vital cash and exhaust every opportunity to make women and girls safer and in the places they live or work.

“I am delighted the full £550k has been awarded, confirming we are right on the money when it comes to protecting our people and preventing crime. Overall, I have fought and secured £1.1 million from this funding round alone to transform safety for women and girls in Nottinghamshire.

“As Commissioner, I want to make the changes that matter to everyone – not just to me. This is why I consulted extensively to find out why and where people feel vulnerable and unsafe – and ultimately give our communities what they want and need.

“I am determined to make Nottinghamshire a safe place for women and girls and give them the confidence to enjoy our glorious county without fear.”

Lee Anderson, MP for Ashfield, (pictured with Caroline Henry), said: “This is fantastic news and the result of hard work from Commissioner Henry supported by myself in lobbying the Home Secretary. I will continue to push force extra resources to make our area safer and this is being made easier by having a PCC that puts Ashfield front and centre.”