The Pop-Up Safety Hubs, coordinated by Canterbury City Council, run several times a year to help welcome and orientate new students by providing local information and advice on staying safe on a night out in the city.  

Hannah Sherbrock-Cox, Community Liaison Manager, said: “The safety hub set up outside McDonald’s in St George’s Street was a brilliant success, with more than 30 volunteers from partner agencies attending and communicating safety messages to the students. We had really good engagement from our students and we look forward to the next event.”  

Christ Church and the University of Kent’s Street Marshals were also on hand at the event on 24 September to help students stay safe as they moved throughout Canterbury to pubs, restaurants and bars. They are available to remind students to behave responsibly as they walk through residential areas. The areas they cover include Club Chemistry, North Holmes Road, St Michael’s Road and Martyrs Field Road. 

The University runs a range of initiatives to keep their students safe both on campus and in the city including: 

The Night Time Lit Routes Map is  available online to highlight the well-lit routes in the city.  

SafeZoneThe University’s free safety app - Safezone. Students can use it to alert the Security team via their mobile phone for urgent assistance, or first aid if needed.  

The city-wide Zero Tolerance accreditation scheme has also been successful over the last few years, which works with pubs and bars across the city, who have the accreditation, showing they have zero tolerance to harassment. The staff at these premises have had training on how to tackle harassment and unacceptable behaviour. They also operate the Ask Angela Scheme, which encourages people to discreetly ask for help by going to the bar and ‘Ask for Angela’ – a phrase aimed at alerting bar staff so they can help defuse the situation. 

If a student or staff member has experienced harassment they can report it via Report and Support and speak with a specialist advisor.  

The University has also partnered with Longley’s Taxi’s on the Safe Taxi Scheme, which allows Christ Church students who find themselves in a vulnerable situation to reach their student accommodation or another destination, such as a Police station or local hospital, quickly and safely. Students can request a taxi through the scheme even if they do not have the funds to pay the fare at the time of booking.  

Neighbourhood Days will also be taking place with key partners including the council, Kent Police and Kent Fire and Rescue Service, who door-knock in popular student areas to disseminate key tips about keeping safe and being good neighbours, as well as answering any questions students or residents have. 

The Neighbourhood days take place on Monday 11, Tuesday 12, Tuesday 19, Friday 22, Tuesday 26 and Thursday 28 October all 11am to 3pm. 

The next Pop-Up Safety Hub event will be held on 16 October.