Great Yarmouth street wardens and gyBID

The town centre Street Wardens have helped turn Great Yarmouth town centre into a cleaner, safer and friendlier place, but without a BID we could no longer afford them – they are wholly funded by gyBID.

The Street Warden team have many purposes, including:

• Responding to calls for assistance
• Counteracting anti-sociable behaviour
• Cutting shoplifting
• Reporting damage to street scene
• Looking after lost, vulnerable or injured persons
• Providing a uniformed presence
• Removing dangerous discarded needles

The street wardens attended a higher number of shop crime incidents during 2019/20 (692) than the first operational year of the current BID term (509) demonstrating the ongoing need for this vital service. During the last four years the Street Wardens have been called to over 2,500 crime incidents by gyBID payers and issued over 750 6-month exclusion notices on behalf of ShopSafe members. By being a visible presence in the town centre 7 days a week, the street wardens deal with, on average, over 50 enquiries a day from town centre visitors. They have also directly helped over 5,000 town centre visitors in need of assistance such as children being separated from parents, lost vulnerable relatives, lost purses, injury or illness during the last four years.

The Street Wardens’ uniformed presence cannot be underestimated. They make the streets safer and make customers feel safer. Their presence is now an essential part of the town centre offer.