Citizens Somerset Community Safety Campaign Underpass Action
Citizens Somerset Community Safety Campaign Underpass Action
by Fran Hicks, West Somerset Quakers, Co-chair of the Community Safety Action Team
It was a glorious spring day, in full sunshine: on the 2nd April 2025 pupils from St James Church School, their Head Teacher, parents, West Somerset Quakers and the Taunton Methodist churches (all members of Citizens Somerset) with support from members of Victoria Park Action Group, Taunton Mosque and New Creation Church, met with the Leader of Taunton Town Council Cllr Tom Deakin, Cllr Federica Smith-Roberts and Nick O’ Donnell at the underpass next to Victoria Park.
We were all warmly welcomed by Co-Chair Imogen (Year 6 pupil) and invited to introduce ourselves.
The occasion was to hold to account Taunton Town Council over the promises made on a very different day in February 2024, when Tom Deakin met with the children in Victoria Park at dusk to hear about what made them feel unsafe in the area.
This time the underpass didn’t look as scary as it had in February. However, Noah, another Year 6 pupil, was keen to remind Cllr Tom Deakin:
“You gave us the political commitment for installing CCTV in the underpass. We need CCTV because it would help police make prosecutions and make people think twice before committing a crime, and make us all feel safer. Where are you with delivering this?”
To illustrate the watchful eye of cameras, Eva and Faith held eye symbols on sticks that they’d made.
Cllr Deakin replied that, since the initial ask, the town council had taken over monitoring of town centre’s CCTV from the County Council and he would do all he could to find money in the budget to install them.
Asked then, by one of the adults in the group, if it wouldn’t be more important to spend the money on CCTV than on town wardens, who have no powers to intervene when they see criminal activity, only to call the police, Cllr Deakin replied that town wardens were really proving their worth when it came to reducing crimes affecting town centre businesses.
“What about the general public?” challenged a faith leader.
A parent added:
“You say you want the voices of young people to be heard. They are telling you what they want and you need to deliver otherwise they will see it as just a tick box exercise”.
Cllr Deakin got the message and while pushed to give a definite date said he’d send a follow up email with a proposed timeline once he’d established the costs involved. Cllr Smith-Roberts supported this.
Cllr Deakin said it would be simpler to install the lights than the CCTV and that faulty bulbs could be replaced within 28 days.
“Would it not make more sense to install lighting that specifically impedes drug taking (an issue in the underpass), which have embedded cameras?” asked Quaker John Osborne, an innovative idea that Cllr Deakin and Cllr Smith-Roberts agreed to investigate.
The last ask was made by Eva, lifting up foil covered circles the young leaders had made:
“You committed to installing mirrors at both ends of the underpass, so people could see those approaching round the bend.”
She then invited Cllr Deakin and others to walk through the underpass to see why mirrors were needed.
Three pupils were waiting out of sight and as Cllr Deakin approached they jumped out holding cardboard swords shouting , ‘Give us your money!’ ‘Give us your bike!’ ‘Give us your chips!’ demonstrating the potential dangers of the blind spots.
The dramatical interpretation was much appreciated by Cllr Deakin who said he really understood the need, adding that mirrors could easily be installed and asked Cllr O’Donnell to action this, with which he happily complied.
Finally, Imogen invited further discussion from the assembled group, prompting some of the following observations.
From the listening done at the underpass in the winter, Fran Hicks (chair of the Community Safety Group) reminded the councillors that some people had said that they preferred to cross the dual-carriageway in the dark rather than use the underpass as they felt the latter was too dangerous. People had been attacked. She drove home the point that the need for these safety measures had been amply proven and should be a priority for Taunton Town Council.
Jose Blanco, father and resident, whose home overlooks Victoria Park near the underpass, said:
“I want to give my son a little more independence now that he would be going to secondary school and would be making a wider circle of friends. But how can I do this knowing that the underpass is so dangerous?”
Imogen asked Cllr Deakin a timeline for the delivery of the safety measures, explaining the importance to the young leaders:
“We will be leaving for secondary school at the end of the academic year and we want our community organising work to be our legacy.”
Noah added:
“Not only do I want my younger sister to be safe but also all the young people using the underpass to get to St James Church School, Holy Trinity Primary School, and Bishop Fox’s.”
Imogen asked when they could expect a timeline. Very shortly, was the reply, knowing he would indeed be kept to his word.
The whole event was happily concluded, in true Citizens Somerset relational fashion, with tea and cakes and much animated conversations in the Victoria Park Pavilion - courtesy of the Victoria Park Action Group - and expectations of some significant changes in the underpass and in the feelings of greater safety for the pupils, parents and the wider community, and further positive collaborations with the council.
We are Citizens Somerset, part of Citizens UK.
Together, we organise to overcome injustice and win change on the things that you and your local communities care about most across our County. Our alliance is formed of ten members from schools, churches and community groups.