Hyndburn Borough Council Teams up with Community Payback
30 Oct 2009
Hyndburn Borough Council has teamed up with Lancashire Probation Trust’s Community Payback department in a partnership that is the first of its kind in Lancashire,
The Council is funding a dedicated payback supervisor to get offenders working on community projects that otherwise wouldn’t get done.
The first of these projects is the path that runs alongside the railway between Accrington station and Oswaldtwistle station – locally known as The Black Path.
The dedicated supervisor and a team of up to twelve offenders will start cutting back vegetation and clearing the path on Monday 2 November to make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists to use.
The Black Path is 2.5 miles long and the clearing project will take several weeks to complete. Once finished, Frank and the offenders will be working at open spaces across the borough to improve areas for local residents. They’ll be visible whilst going about their work thanks to the orange high-visibility jackets worn by the offenders and a branded payback van.
Lancashire Probation’s Community Payback Director Geri Byrne-Thompson said:
“This is a fantastic partnership that will help to ensure that offenders are carrying out work to benefit Accrington and Hyndburn communities. We are pleased to be working with the council in this unique way and the first project is a prime example of how the offenders can help payback for their crimes by making a popular walkway safer for its users.
“Community Payback is just one of the sentences that can be made as part of a community order but it’s also the most visible and the one which directly benefits local communities the most. “
Cllr Peter Clarke, Hyndburn Council’s Cabinet Member for Environmental Issues said, ”We are pleased to be involved in this innovative partnership. We are always looking for ways to make our budgets go further and this partnership is a great use of resources which will allow us to will tackle problem areas to improve the environment and make them more welcoming for residents and visitors.”
The project is part of wider a programme of work by Community Payback. Last year, a total of 87,455 hours were worked in East Lancashire by offenders unpaid for the benefit of local people and neighbourhoods.
Anyone can suggest work projects for offenders to do - apply online via the form below. All work schemes must be for non-profit community benefit.
