Praise for street marshals in Barnstaple and Ilfracombe

A Barnstaple councillor has praised the success of the town’s street marshal scheme as it enters its third year.

Syed Jusef, central ward councillor for both Barnstaple Town Council and North Devon Council, has said both councils are committed to seeing the scheme continue after a significant reduction in anti-social behaviour.

The benefits of street marshals in Barnstaple also led to the initiative being rolled out in Ilfracombe too.

Cllr Jusef said: “The scheme has been a great success and helps people feel much safer when they come into the town centre.

“Since marshals have been on the street, anti-social behaviour has gone down.”

North and West policing commander, Superintendent Toby Davies, recently told a North Devon Council (NDC) meeting that anti-social behaviour had gone down by a third since the marshals were introduced.

As well as providing reassurance to the community and dealing with early signs of ASB, street marshals help police and the council with their daily duties, gather intelligence, enforce the Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPOs), provide first aid and a link to council and police teams by using the town centre radio network Shopnet.

The service was originally provided in Barnstaple thanks to government Safer Streets programme. When this ran out at the end of 2023, North Devon Council stepped in to fund the service, with further funding from the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) and Barnstaple Town Council.

NDC committed to funding the service until the end of June 2024 and also earmarked £200,000 to ensure it would continue for another two years.

Cllr Jusef told the Gazette he regularly heard public feedback thanking the councils for the scheme and with people saying they hoped it would continue.

He added: “The marshals don’t just cover the High Street in Barnstaple, but the wider town centre area, plus the surrounding residential streets such as Barbican Road and Trinity Street.

“The marshals have recently been asked to focus also on the smaller side streets and lanes where rough sleepers or street drinkers often gather.”