Blackpool MP Chris Webb hits back at critics of a mile long wellness walk saying “its what residents deserve”
“This injection of £200,000 will deliver real street improvement with new trees, planters, benches and way-finders – creating a safer, greener and more attractive place to live which Claremont residents deserve.”
A Blackpool MP has hit back at critics of a mile long wellness walk featuring art work and street furniture saying “creating a safer, greener and more attractive place to live is what residents deserve”.
Chris Webb, the MP for Blackpool South helped secure £200,000 Government funding for one of Blackpool’s most deprived communities to deliver real street improvements.
The colourful corridor has been inspired by ideas from local schoolchildren and is taking shape in the Claremont ward, just north of the town centre.
The idea for the project came from children and young people at Claremont’s Magic Club.
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During design workshops, they explained how they wanted their streets to be cleaner, greener and more colourful to make walking around their community a more cheerful experience.
The Wellness Walk will follow eight streets between Claremont Park and the Grundy Art Gallery, on Queen Street.
Dozens of colourful planters and benches, wayfinding posts, and bright artworks are being added to key junctions along the route and a map outlining the Wellness Walk route will be situated at Westminster Primary Academy.
However, the scheme has been blasted as a waste of money by Mark Rabjohns, who is the Reform UK candidate selected to stand in Claremont in the forthcoming council elections next year.
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Mr Webb said: “I’m proud that the Pride in Place Impact Fund I secured in Parliament is paying for much-needed street improvements in Claremont and across the town.
“Through the Our Claremont People’s Plan, residents told us they wanted cleaner, safer and more attractive public spaces. This injection of £200,000 will deliver real street improvement with new trees, planters, benches and way-finders – creating a safer, greener and more attractive place to live which Claremont residents deserve.
“Together with the agreed funding for the Grundy Art Gallery, this brings our Pride in Place investment in Claremont to more than £350,000. Claremont went too long without the investment it deserved under previous governments, so I’m pleased this new funding is going into places residents use every day to bring pride back in our communities.
“From supporting cultural institutions like the Grundy to improving our streets and public spaces, we are building a better Claremont and a better Blackpool."
Blackpool Council Leader Lynn Williams also backed the project.
Cllr Williams, who is also a Claremont ward councillor, said: “What I really want people to understand about this project is where the idea came from. It was our children and young people who told us what they wanted to see in their neighbourhood.
“They want to walk to school, into town and around Claremont along streets that looked brighter and more welcoming – to feel good about the place they live and the routes they walk every day.
“We listened, and I’m really pleased that we are now seeing their ideas starting to become reality.
“The planters, trees, artwork and new street furniture might seem like relatively small things individually, but when you bring them together along a mile-long route, they can make a real difference to how streets look and feel.
“This is about listening to our community, and particularly our young people, and acting on what they tell us.”
The Wellness Walk also forms part of the wider ‘Our Claremont People’s Plan’, ensuring community-led regeneration for the area. Supported by Blackpool Council, Magic Club, and Homes England, the People’s Plan has been drawn up following feedback from 140+ Claremont residents.
Mr Rabjohns said: “There are better ways to spend public money. Claremont is a very deprived area and just up the road there is a play area that is practically falling to pieces.
“This is not solving anything and I don’t believe there has been any consultation about it for ordinary people around here.
“It’s a waste of time and money when it doesn’t address any issues and many people agree with me say and say that it is not going to serve any purpose.
“There is hardly any place in Blackpool where kids can go to be mentored, where someone can instill values or put them on the right path.
“I doubt very much this is going to stop any vandalism.”