You may have heard of the #strongernorth initiative in North Edinburgh. It is a joint initiative among all organisations and citizens in the area to the a new approach to crime and community safety.
All information about community or police action to minimise anti-social behaviour is shared on social media using the #strongernorth hashtag.
Now West Pilton Park has been spruced up by a team of unpaid workers as part of the anti-crime campaign.
The campaign involves partners such as Police Scotland, and is a targeted effort to deal with crime and to make the community a safer and more pleasant place to be.
The park has been tidied up by the Community Payback Order team, with overgrown weeds and trees trimmed to make it a more attractive resource for people to use and for them to feel safer while they do so.
Councillor Day said: “I’m really pleased with the work carried out to the park by the Community Payback team – it shows how simple things like clearing overgrown, unkempt areas can make places feel safer and less intimidating.
“This is a continuation of all the good work being carried out as part of #StrongerNorth and follows the recent community clean-ups, which led to several tonnes of rubbish being removed.
“There is a real sense of community amongst the people living in the area and the goal of #StrongerNorth is to capture that feeling and to take actions like these that deal with the problems people have raised with us.”
Inspector David Happs said: “#StrongerNorth is a key local priority for Police Scotland. We are fully supportive of the work undertaken by the Community Payback Team and we applaud efforts by Edinburgh Council to improve community safety in the Forth area.
“We are also pleased to see this enhancement to the local environment and believe it to be a key part of the Stronger North initiative. By clearing away this undergrowth, it will make the area significantly safer and it will hinder the disposal of stolen vehicles.”
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