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Aston Project Scrapped Amid Budget Cuts, "Betrayal" of Community

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Cheltenham Borough Council's finance and assets cabinet member Alisha Lewis (LD, Oakley) has expressed deep concern over the decision to axe the Aston Project, a community-focused initiative that had been supporting at-risk young people in the county. The project, set up in 2011 and named after late neighbourhood police constable Lynn Aston, is being scrapped due to budget cuts of PS12.3m that Gloucestershire Constabulary faces. Lewis has written to Police and Crime Commissioner Chris Nelson, urging him to reverse the decision, citing the devastating impact it will have on communities of Oakley and Whaddon.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Aston Project, a community-focused initiative named after late neighbourhood police constable Lynn Aston, has been scrapped due to budget cuts of PS12.3m that Gloucestershire Constabulary faces.
  • Cheltenham Borough Council's finance and assets cabinet member Alisha Lewis (LD, Oakley) has expressed deep concern over the decision, citing the devastating impact it will have on communities of Oakley and Whaddon.
  • Lewis has written to Police and Crime Commissioner Chris Nelson, urging him to reverse the decision, acknowledging the importance of the project in supporting young people in her ward.
  • The project offered structure, hope, and a path away from crime for young people, and its scrapping is seen as a betrayal of communities, particularly those in Oakley and Whaddon.
  • The decision to axe the project has been met with criticism, with Lewis arguing that it will cost lives, thousands in emergency callouts, and repair the physical and social damage done to neighbourhoods.
  • The Constabulary has stated that they had to make the "extremely difficult" decision to end the project as they must make PS12.3m in savings by the end of the financial year.
  • Senior officers have met with Eamon Aston to explain the situation regarding the Aston Project and to put on record their thanks for his and his late wife Lynn's dedication to working with young people over the years.

Statistics:

  • PS12.3m: the amount of budget cuts that Gloucestershire Constabulary faces.
  • 2011: the year the Aston Project was set up.
  • PS12.3m: the amount of savings the Constabulary must make by the end of the financial year.
  • 18 neighbourhoods: the number of areas where communities are being asked to pay the price for failures in how the force has been led and funded.
  • 75%: the number of police PCSOs who will still be working throughout the county.
  • 60%: the number of police precepts that have risen again, hitting low-income families already struggling with the cost of living.

Sources:

  • Cheltenham Borough Council's finance and assets cabinet member Alisha Lewis (LD, Oakley)
  • Police and Crime Commissioner Chris Nelson
  • Gloucestershire Constabulary
  • Office and Police Crime Commissioner for Gloucestershire (OPCC)
  • A spokesperson for the OPCC
  • Eamon Aston, partner of late neighbourhood police constable Lynn Aston.

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