A new look road crossing will take PRIDE of place on The Parade in Leamington as it gets a rainbow-coloured makeover.
Following a request from Warwickshire Pride, and further engagement with local stakeholders, Warwickshire County Council will be updating the colour scheme of the existing puffin crossing in time for this year’s Warwickshire Pride event on 21 August.
The puffin crossing, which is located outside The Pump Rooms, will become Warwickshire’s first rainbow road crossing.
Councillor Wallace Redford, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for Transport and Planning said: “We want Warwickshire to be a place where everyone feels valued, included, safe and welcome, and as an organisation we place inclusivity at the heart of everything we do.
“I’m delighted that Warwickshire’s first rainbow crossing will be in place before this year’s Warwickshire Pride event and is a way for us to show visible support for Warwickshire’s LGBTQ+ community.
“We are proud to support and celebrate Pride and our LGBTQ+ communities. It’s in a great location on The Parade and will make a long-lasting eye-catching addition to this popular area of Leamington.”
Daniel Browne, Chair of Warwickshire Pride said: “It's wonderful that Leamington will now have a rainbow crossing. Many other towns and cities around the UK have rainbow crossings and although Warwickshire is catching up, it's great that the County Council and partners have agreed to this important, symbolic crossing.
“Pride is a protest. LGBT+ people continue to be discriminated against and experience hate just for being who they are. Even here in Leamington it is not easy to be LGBT+. That's why the rainbow crossing is so important. It sends a strong message that LGBT+ people are welcome here, that the County Council supports the LGBT+ community, and that Warwickshire is moving with the times.
“It is my hope that the rainbow crossing is accepted, celebrated, and that the meaning of it is also recognised.”
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While the rainbow crossing is an important visual symbol of Warwickshire County Council’s ongoing support for the LGBTQ+ community this has been demonstrated in other ways over recent months.
- The council has worked with NHS South Warwickshire Foundation Trust to adopt and implement the NHS Rainbow Badge scheme locally. The focus of this work was building trust within LGBTQ+ community groups, listening to their experiences of accessing healthcare services.
- Earlier this year Warwickshire Fire and Rescue celebrated Pride through a series of webinars with other Fire and Rescue services exploring how to listen and understand their communities.
- Additionally Warwickshire County Council has worked with Warwickshire Pride to develop and deliver a range of LGBTQ+ inclusion workshops for county council staff and other councils in Warwickshire.
This year’s Warwickshire Pride festival will once again be hosted online, with an exciting programme of content streaming throughout the day.
Full details of the line-up can be found on http://www.warwickshirepride.co.uk/