Your Life Doncaster City Centre - December 2024

Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas!

Welcome to our festive City Centre focussed newsletter.

Most of us are on the countdown to welcoming Santa and enjoying this cheerful time of year with our loved ones. There’s plenty to see and do in anticipation of Christmas and New Year, a lot of which will include trips to Doncaster City Centre.

We want to make it as safe and inclusive as possible for all residents and visitors.

See you in 2025!

Safer City at Christmas

City of Doncaster Council is working with South Yorkshire Police and other partners on a range of initiatives across the city so that Doncaster is a safer place for everyone to enjoy.

The Doncaster Safe Haven will once again be in operation over the Christmas period as a safe space if you feel you need support on a night out. Based at the Unitarian Church opposite Flares, they provide water, tea, coffee and a listening ear. It will be in operation on Friday 13, Friday 20 and Saturday 21 December from 9pm - 1am. 

There are other resources to assist women in particular. They include:

• Improving safety for women in pubs and clubs with training for staff, anti-spiking campaigns and Ask for Angela
• Taxi marshals to help ensure women get home safely
• Walk Safe App - https://walksafe.io/

For more information on the Safer City initiative and advice on staying safe over the festive season, visit the Your Life Doncaster website.

White Ribbon Day

British Transport Police and the council’s City Centre Engagement officers recently marked White Ribbon Day, a day to stand up and speak out against violence towards women and girls.

Ending VAWG isn’t just a women’s issue. This year’s theme was focussed on men taking more responsibility for their actions and attitudes towards women. Report anything you see on the rail network, which is untoward, by sending a text to 61016

Retail crime: Business Charter

We've made great strides tackling retail crime in Doncaster city centre in 2024, with a dedicated team set up to investigate prolific offenders and recognise patterns of offending, resulting in a significant number of people being charged and sentenced.

We know that joint working is the best approach to tackling retail crime, and that is why South Yorkshire Police has created a Business Crime Charter, with retailers, retail centres and other key partners signed up to it.

The Charter allows us to work together to reduce the opportunities for retail crime and take more robust action when crime does take place, while also improving the efficiencies of our processes and supporting staff who are abused or attacked in the workplace.

We want to expand this network and we are calling on businesses in Doncaster city centre to sign up if they haven't already done so. Email retailcrime@southyorkshire.police.uk

Read more

EPIC Success

In total more than 1,000 young people attended the EPIC Hub in the Frenchgate Centre throughout Autumn. There has been a raft of activities and initiatives on offer as the nights have become longer.

Our half-term programme saw lots of young people get involved in our creative arts and crafts sessions, Halloween themed activities, movie nights and a thrilling murder mystery – all of which offered a safe space for fun and connection.

We also launched our Dark Nights campaign promoting how to stay safe as the nights draw in. This includes a video and detailed webpage accessible on www.linktr.ee/epicdoncaster with safety tips created by young people, for young people.

The campaign covers topics such as online safety on popular platforms like Roblox with the tagline “Don’t get left alone in the digital dark”, as well as guidance on setting up and activating ‘Emergency SOS’ on smartphones.

Interactive open-access workshops have been held during our open hub sessions, reinforcing the themes from the campaign with young people through quizzes, scenario planning, activities on trust and identifying ‘steps to safety’, equipping young people with essential safety knowledge.

Free City Centre Parking

And as an extra bonus... this Festive Season City of Doncaster Council will once again be supporting local businesses, residents, and visitors by offering free city centre parking from Sunday 1st December 2024 to Sunday 5th January 2025 from 2pm and for the rest of the day/evening Monday-Saturday at the Markets and St Georges car parks.

We are also offering:

• All day Sunday free car parking at the popular Markets Car Park and St Georges Car Park
• Every Saturday in December free all-day parking at Chappell Drive Car Park. 

Find out more about our free city centre parking below:

Free Parking

Supporting ‘Road Safety Week’ and beyond

We were recently joined by the emergency services and colleagues at South Yorkshire Safer Roads Partnership to provide hands on advice to current and potential road users of how to keep safe on the highway.

Staff from the council’s Road Safety team and Active Travel team were on hand to engage with students and staff at Doncaster College, which proved a great success.

Particularly at this time of year during the darker nights – and when there is an increase in socialising – it is more important than ever that drivers consider 0% alcohol options before they buy a drink.

Together, all services support Vision Zero as we look to stop death and serious injury on our roads.

Vision Zero

Alcohol advice

It’s Christmas party season. According to NHS England 12-15% of A&E admissions are alcohol related.

Celebrate, have a fabulous time, stay safe and protect YOUR emergency services.

If you’re worried about your drinking habits or someone else’s call Aspire for a confidential chat on: 03000 213900.