Drove pupils capture Broadgreen’s community spirit

More than 150 children at the Drove Road school took part in a competition to draw what local neighbourhood Broadgreen means to them.

The pictures from Year 6 pupils Zacarias, Zara and Aadhya were then selected to form the basis of the new ‘Brighter Broadgreen’ logo that will be used by local agencies and residents in forthcoming community activity in the area.

Wiltshire Police, Swindon Borough Council, the Office for the Police and Crime Commissioner and South Swindon Parish Council have joined forces over the past 12 months as part of a national Home Office initiative to tackle a number of local issues in Broadgreen such as organised crime, drugs offences, anti-social behaviour, illegal trading and dangerous driving.

This has seen dozens of arrests and fines being issued, while a series of community engagement events have taken place, including two neighbourhood clean-ups. Police and council officers have also teamed up to deal with inconsiderate parking in the local area after it was raised as a problem by residents.

Councillor Jim Grant, Swindon Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities and Partnerships, said: “I’d like to say a huge thank you to all the children at Drove Primary School for producing such colourful and thoughtful pictures, which really encapsulated the warm and welcoming community we have in Broadgreen.

“Our council officers have worked closely with Wiltshire Police to tackle some of the issues within the local neighbourhood during the past year and we are now building relationships with the community so we can work together to stop such problems from reoccurring.

“The new logo and the words that accompany it, inspired by Zacarias, Zara and Aadhya, will be a symbol of that partnership.”

Detective Superintendent Guy Elkins, Wiltshire Police’s Swindon Hub Commander, said: “This logo and the name of ‘Brighter Broadgreen’ really capture the essence of Broadgreen and what we are working to achieve in the community, and I’d like to thank the children at Drove Primary School for working so hard on the designs – they are excellent.

“Through our multi-agency partnership work over the past few months we have made progress in the community in terms of rooting out criminality and addressing issues which matter most to local residents and businesses, but we know there is much more to do in the area.

“I would ask the community to continue reporting issues to us either through our website or on 101. You know your community best, and your information is invaluable in enabling us to build a full picture of what is happening on the ground.”

Anyone who is interested in getting involved in future community events in Broadgreen should email: SwindonCommunity@swindon.gov.uk