MORE than 100 people have signed a petition calling for lighting to be installed on a well-used alleyway off Keynsham High Street.
It is frequently used as a pedestrian route linking the High Street to the Memorial Park and for people who live in Back Lane to access the High Street.
It has been flagged by the police and women as intimidating after dark due to its lack of lighting.
The petition has been organised by local resident Richard Watkins, who said: “After dark you are unable to see where dog owners have let their animals defecate, or on occasions where drunks have vomited, or how to avoid the broken tarmac surface.
“This alleyway offers the potential as a muggers’ paradise. There are plenty of escape routes, if muggings were to take place.
“My first concern is for the elderly residents that live in Back Lane and lastly for myself, who is registered blind with limited vision.”
Mr Watkins has contacted councillors about the issue, one of whom, George Leach, said that lighting for the alleyway had been included as an “aspirational” part of the Keynsham Town Centre Regeneration Action Plan as it was the only way to secure funding for works required.
The regeneration project, which is in the consultation stage and not finalised, will not proceed until the Bath & North East Somerset local plan is agreed, which is scheduled for around late 2026. Cllr Leach said he did not envisage any work happening on the regeneration before 2027 at the earliest.
Mr Watkins said he lacked confidence that lighting for the alleyway would be installed under the regeneration project because residents had been let down before by B&NES Council during their previous improvement scheme for the High Street.
In 2022, Mr Watkins had been told by a B&NES Council officer that the town centre public realm scheme would include improvement to lighting in the passageways from the High Street to Ashton Way and Back Lane. But it later emerged this information was incorrect.
The council said there were obstacles to improving these passageways, notably land ownership, but that it would continue to look for ways to resolve these issues.
Meanwhile, Cllr Andy Wait, chair of Keynsham Town Council and a B&NES councillor, has told Mr Watkins he will ask the police if they can help to secure any funding from other agencies for lighting, giving that they are aware of the potential for crime in the alleway.
Cllr Wait said: “There is no doubt that the lighting in the Back Lane alleyway is inadequate. I support Richard Watkins’ campaign to highlight the potential danger of an accident there. Councillor Alex Beaumont and I have been in contact with the businesses on either side of the path to look for a solution to the problem.”
Petition calls for lighting in Keynsham alleyway
