Safe and resilient neighbourhood

A neighbourhood approach to crime and policing

Being a diverse and thriving central London area with cultural icons and high footfall, naturally Bankside faces security and resilience challenges. To ensure everyone working, living, and visiting Bankside can feel safe and secure, we drive partnerships, trainings, and specific projects to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour. Better Bankside Is tackling crime by bringing together businesses, council officers, and the Metropolitan Police In our Security and Resilience Group.

Our services which support your business to operate through disturbances include:

Wardens will continue to perform in their usual capacity in the event of a disturbance. This is as an additional resource and liaison point for the police and other emergency services. They can assist in connecting you with the most effective person or service for your need. To report a specific non-emergency problem to them, contact Better Bankside Warden on the dedicated mobile: 07725 625954. Please remember in the case of an emergency, call: 999.

The public can also report to the Council Noise, Nuisance, ASB number on 020 7525 5777.
Or, report online at Community and living – Report Antisocial Behaviour | Southwark Council
Or, report online to the police at Report antisocial behaviour | Metropolitan Police

Resilience is the ability of an organisation to anticipate, prepare for, respond and adapt to incremental change and sudden disruptions in order to survive and prosper – in short: to be able to handle unforeseen events. This could be a flood, fire, cyber disruption, or a terrorist attack.

These events cannot be prevented from happening, but it is wise to prepare for those emergencies and minimise the effects. Businesses should be aware of their specific risks, and – where possible – take measures to control these risks and prepare for disruption.
Better Bankside will help you prepare for any disruptions to enable you to continue to operate or return to normal as quickly as possible. We offer trainings on business continuity, terrorism awareness and cyber security. Check our events page to see what is on offer.

Safeguarding your business during public events. We are keen to support you keeping staff and your businesses safe, please find a useful guide which focuses on the following:

• Prioritise employee protection
• Protect your business premises
• Securing vacant premises
• Protests impacting on your business
• Reporting crimes to the police

Pubwatch schemes have been in existence nationally for over 20 years. Their aim is to bring together the licensees within a particular geographical area, such as a town centre, to provide mutual aid and assistance to combat crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour. Also to exploit opportunities arising from events and activities taking place in that area.

Better Bankside has been instrumental in setting up and running Pubwatch SE1 which has been in existence since May 2007 and which spans both the Better Bankside and the Team London Bridge BIDs.

Pubwatch SE1 currently has more than 30 members drawn mainly from the licensed trade. It is run by its members and meets every 2 months with the police and the licensing authority to receive reports on local crime, ASB and other local activities that may affect their trade. The meetings act as a forum at which members can also hear about local events and receive advice and training on things such as dealing with drugs, football hooliganism and the threat from terrorism.

Disaster Planning. We run regular Business Continuity sessions for members delivering an introduction to planning for an emergency. Whether it be a flood, fire or any other issue that might prevent you from accessing your premises, our sessions – led by experienced BC professionals – will provide an understanding of the most common risks and their potential impacts, outline the basics of how to put a business continuity plan together and signpost to resources available to assist you in preparing for an emergency.  

Cyber Security Training. The cyber threat to businesses continues to increase each year, with most ransomware attacks coming through a compromised computer. In order to equip members with the skills to minimise the risk of falling prey to hackers we have partnered with the Police Digital Security Centre to deliver a series of seminars covering the basics of cyber security and identifying simple techniques to make businesses more resilient against a cyber potential attack.

Warn and Inform. Alongside our neighbouring BID –  Team London Bridge we provide an area-wide warn and inform service, keeping our members up to date with critical information on events and incidents affecting the area. The service also has a secure depository of useful information and templates on business continuity, emergency preparedness and ways to improve the resilience of your business. Linked to this online platform is an App allowing you to receive messages and access the document store on the go. You’ll need to sign up to receive this information, contact our Resilience and Crime Reduction Manager, Diane Newton, dn@betterbankside.co.uk, to register your interest.  

The Southwark Community Security Zone (CSZ) covers the area of northern Southwark between Tower Bridge and Blackfriars Bridge and is recognised by the Police as having significant political, cultural, economic and iconic status. The aim of the CSZ is to provide a safer, secure and more resilient place in which to work, live, visit and do business by developing and promoting the concept of community security. These objectives are delivered jointly through a Security and Resilience Forum administered by Better Bankside and Team London Bridge. The membership of the Forum includes appropriate representatives from organizations (both private and public) in the area, the Police, and Southwark Emergency Planning.

We deliver a programme to help your business respond to new challenges, to build resilience, navigate change and plan for the future. Sessions include cyber security sessions, business continuity training, ACT Awareness, Self-Defense Training and Mental Health First Aid training. Check our events listings to see what’s on offer.

Our cleaning team can help to clear and clean the area surrounding your business to help you recover as quickly as possible. They patrol the area daily, but to request their special assistance please ring 020 7928 3998

Severe weather support service. Better Bankside works in partnership with the council and our businesses to enable us to cope as effectively as possible with adverse weather conditions.

In the eventuality of heavy snow and ice, the cleaning and wardens teams will assist the council to keep the most used footways through the area safe and free from ice and snow. We have placed salt bins in strategic locations throughout the BID and filled these with salt for use by our teams and those businesses who have agreed to help. Better Bankside are linked to the Council’s Winter Service Manager for weather information which will trigger the response from the Council’s street cleaning and highways services and Better Bankside’s teams.   

Anyone able to join and help us keep the footways clear this winter should contact Miguel Ferreira at mf@betterbankside.co.uk. 

To get in touch with us please contact Diane Newton on 020 7928 3998 or dn@betterbankside.co.uk.