Gates 'changing lives' (From Barry And District News)

Gates 'changing lives'

A NEW phase of the successful Alley Gates scheme will be launched tomorrow and Saturday.

The Vale of Glamorgan Council and Barry police will be opening the third phase of the project in the Cadoc and Court wards of Barry.

The Alley Gates will be erected at both ends of pathways, back lanes and alleyways, with only residents and occupiers of business premises being given unique keys.

The project allows back lanes in the area to be sealed off, reducing opportunities for people to commit burglaries and other crimes by closing off their escape routes.

The launch will take place at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, Barry, on Friday, March 18, and Saturday, March 19.

Residents in Cadoxton will be able to collect their keys for the gates, which will allow them to access their properties.

Barry Sector Inspector Geraint Evans said: "The existing Alley Gates in Castleland have already had a huge impact on reducing crime in the area.

"This has been demonstrated by the fact that at a public meeting, one resident said that the Alley Gates had changed her life so significantly that she now felt safe going out at night."

Keith Jones, the council's project manager for Alley Gates, said: "I believed that the success of the first projects in Castleland can and will be repeated in the expansion of the scheme."

Councillor John Thomas, the Vale of Glamorgan Council's cabinet member for community safety, added: "The funds for this phase of the project have been obtained from the Vale Community Safety Partner-ship, European Objective 2 Transitional Grant and the Newydd Housing Association.