Sussex Police will receive almost £900,000 in extra funding as part of the Government’s £25 million Safer Streets Fund to spend on projects in Hastings and Eastbourne.

The Safer Streets Fund forms part of the Government’s concerted action to tackle crime, and aims to stop offences that blight communities and cause misery to victims from happening in the first place and news of the funding boost for the Sussex force has been warmly welcomed by Hastings MP Sally-Ann Hart.

The extra funding will be targeted on improving security in areas particularly affected by burglary, vehicle theft and robbery; the crimes the public are most likely to encounter, and they are estimated to cost society billions of pounds every year. The new funding will go towards measures proven to cut crime.

The funding will also be used to train community wardens, deliver local crime prevention advice to residents and establish Neighbourhood Watch schemes.

Police and Crime Commissioners were invited to bid for a share of the £25 million Safer Streets Fund in January, with each project eligible for a grant of up to £550,000.

Bids were evaluated against a set criteria and bidders were asked to outline a plan to reduce crime within a local crime hotspot, demonstrating value for money, evidence of community engagement and long-term sustainability.

This additional funding comes alongside the Government’s commitment to recruit 20,000 additional police officers over the next three years, and the £1.1 billion funding boost for the policing system for 2020-21.

Mrs Hart said: “This Government was elected on the promise to crack down on crime and make our streets safer, and the nearly £900,000 announced today for Sussex Police will help deliver that… I am confident that this will prevent and reduce crimes such as burglary and robbery in the areas that need it most.

“I want people everywhere to feel secure in their communities and be able to live their lives free from the threat of crime, and this extra funding for Sussex Police will help make that possible.”

The funding was announced yesterday by Police and Crime Commissioner for Sussex Katy Bourne OBE who said she was ‘delighted’ with the additional funding from the Home Office.

Ms Bourne says the extra cash will be used for crime prevention measures like CCTV, improved street lighting, alley-gating and to support local business fight acquisitive crime/antisocial behaviour

Hastings Conservative Leader Councillor Rob Lee has hailed additional funding to Hastings Policing as “A big win for Hastings and St Leonards.”

The extra funding will be split equally between Eastbourne and Hastings and will be focused on providing safer streets in the towns.

Mr Lee said: “The money will largely be spent on practical things such as improved street lighting and hopefully improving CCTV coverage in the town centre. I hope this new funding can secure the future of Hastings town centre CCTV and keep us all safer and that businesses in town will see the benefit of the police being more able to tackle anti-social behaviour.”

Home Secretary Priti Patel said, “I will not stand by while criminals inflict fear and misery on our communities. That is why I set up this fund to ensure we are doing all we can to prevent people falling victim to these crimes.”