THE second phase of work to improve Boscombe Crescent is due to get under way in the New Year, the council has confirmed.

It is part of ongoing attempts to regenerate the area, in particular to overhaul the Crescent’s image as a centre for anti-social behaviour.

The council is aiming to make it ‘a safe and attractive public open space’.

The work is set to start on Tuesday, January 7, and finish in late February.

It includes laying new crescent-shaped paths, creating seating bays for benches next to the planting, providing benches with extra armrests suitable for people with mobility problems and creating a separate pathway from Walpole Road to Christchurch Road.

There will also be a new planting bed to separate that route from the crescent path, additional railings to enclose the planting beds – replacing the temporary wire fences – and a paved area for pop-up kiosks and events with an electrical point.

A permanent Christmas tree socket will be provided, along with the front wall being renovated.

Once the hard landscaping has been finished the council’s parks team will plant the new areas and revisit the existing planting.

Cllr Jane Kelly, cabinet member for partnerships and regeneration, said: “I am so pleased that improvements at Boscombe Crescent are progressing well.

“Soon the space will be much more inviting – a place families can enjoy.

“It is a really important focal point in Boscombe, both as a ‘first impression’ to the area and as an opportunity to show how investment and care can start to bring about a positive change.

“The council, as part of the ‘Backing Boscombe’ project, has taken a lot of time to work with local residents through a variety of consultations so that we create a feel good atmosphere at this public space.”

The works follow a consultation with the community, whose feedback ‘has been crucial in helping to inform decisions made about the improvements’, the council said.