Memorial statue marks new era (From The Argus)

Memorial statue marks new era

5:00pm Sunday 25th October 2009 in News By Andy Chiles

Traders and residents say the new Aids memorial has marked a new era for an area of the city which has struggled with a bad reputation.

The unveiling of the statue in New Steine, Brighton, this month has coincided with a concerted effort to reinvigorate the St James’s Street neighbourhood.

The area is best known as the heart of the city’s gay community but has been dogged by a reputation as a hang-out for street drinkers.

A concerted effort by traders and residents who have united to work with the council, police and other authorities now appears to have turned round its fortunes.

Chris Cooke, the chairman of the St James’s Street local action team which has been co-ordinating the work, said: “We want to make St James’s Street and the surrounding area a safe, clean and green place. We’ve been running for over a year now and it has made a real difference.

“The Aids memorial has been a key step forward.”

A police crackdown, including more regular patrols by PCSOs, has led to a major reduction in antisocial behaviour linked with street drinkers.

A clean-up day was staged on side streets in conjunction with Brighton and Hove City Council’s CityClean service and another will take place in St James’s Street itself on Monday. The road will be closed to cars in the morning while residents and council cleaners work together.

Despite the recession, the road now has fewer empty shop fronts than two years ago, with only three remaining unoccupied.

Zoe Delacata, the owner of Kemptown Tools and the chairwoman of the Kemp Town Business Group, said: “There’s definitely a buzz in the area now.

Footfall is up around the shops and more businesses are seeing that things are getting done so they are getting more involved.”

Simon Burgess, Labour’s parliamentary candidate for the Brighton Kemptown constituency, said: “The Aids memorial feels like the real big boost the area needed.

“Now we have an iconic image in the area which will draw people here. It is important to remember it happened because everyone in the area worked together so well.”