Plans for a Day Centre & Move on Accommodation for Homeless People have been announced by Worcester Community Housing in conjunction with St Paul’s Hostel.
The plans aim to tie in with Worcester City Councils Homelessness Strategy and utilize S.A.S.H funding of £254,00 grant allocation from the Department of Communities and Local Government(DCLG)
My Aim of writing this blog about the proposed development in Lowesmoor is to engage fully with residents and get the full facts and concerns out in the public, so that these can be properly aired to the Planning Officers and other Ward Councilors and an informed decision is made.
I have been around, to Sansome Walk , spoke with residents, personally ,via telephone and engaged via-electronic media and this is my summary of residents views and the W.C.H. proposal
No decision has been made
Firstly WC.H. & ST Paul’s Hostel Case
The Centre will be:
Front line provision to prevent single homelessness and rough sleeping; The needs of single homeless customers can often be very simple, e.g., where a single man has been involved in a relationship breakdown and left the family home or their needs can be extremely complex with mental health, learning disabilities, personality disorders and substance misuse issues. A person who has to sleep rough is at high risk of becoming institutionalized within days in order that they are able to survive life on the streets.
The noble Aim and Vision is to ‘End Rough Sleeping’
Pro’s
The Centre will be move on accommodation:
It is not intended for long term use max tenancies, are up to 6 month
It engages the city’s homeless to use services , seek help & interact with support workers
The services are by appointment only it is not a drop in centre
It fits in with National ‘No Second night out’ Strategy where the City Council have a duty to make sure no new rough sleeper spends a second night on the streets
It is not accommodation for Entrenched rough sleepers or those that are dependent on long term support or substance misuse
It helps rough sleepers to find a way to re integrate with main stream society and become fully independent.
Secured, gated premises, available to key fob holders only.
CCTV installed throughout the building
The residents Views & Business Owners Views
Location
Lowesmoor, Sansome walk, lion Court & Blackhorse Walk have had a history of problems
That include:
Drugs
ASB
Late night rambling
Operation Dorado carried out by West Mercia Police highlighted in 2012 that Lowesmoor (Blackhorse Walk) as one of the Crime & Drugs hotspots in the City of Worcester. A couple of arrests were made and an undercover operation conducted.
There are genuine concerns of security as Goodrich House Users already hang around next door and the public/residents feel threatened. Heenans Social Club development will only add to their fears.
The development is a vast Tardis and rises three storey’s high. Concerns of privacy and extra traffic flow from employees also an issue, as well as threat of burglary & vandalism
There are also fears that rules will be flouted and that residents will be ignored.
Anonymous residents have had first had experience of living next door to a places for ‘change centre in Aston Birmingham’ their experience can be summed up as a ‘Living Hell’ where burglary & vandalism were rife.
These are the facts and views as they are , I want residents & all city dwellers to express their views openly and honestly WETHER IN FAVOUR OR AGAINST so that I can take them forward and represent them to officers , when the planning officers meet.
I hope that this has been useful for you and please leave comments via the form attached, I will review all comments & provide a summary to Officers.
I've already had my Christmas lights pulled down from the tree outside my house and my car bashed when someone put their foor into the tailgate. In terms of the homeless that live in Worcester, I have to pick up empty cans of Tennants Super from my garden that you see them drinking in the morning every few days. I've noticed that they tend to hang around the church car park and often see them urinating in the graveyard. It's bad enough with homeless people in Sansome Place already. Building the centre in Sansome Place will devastate the area and make a normal family life here impossible.
ReplyDeleteFrom a practical point of view, putting new homeless and vulnerable people into the drug hotspot that is Black Horse Walk doesn't sound like a sensible thing to do. I've found syringes there on multiple occations and whilst a new supply of local vulnerable customers might be good for the dealers, it's not what the City should be trying to achieve.
The above list of Pro's could be for any place in Worcester or any place in the UK for that matter. Its a generic list for any homeless organisation. Their are no Pro's for the actual residents of Sansome Place and BLack Horse Walk.
ReplyDeleteAs previously mentioned the area is already blighted by vagrants, drink and drug use. The area is well known to the Police. Wishing to increase the number of homeless transiting and hanging around this area will only add to the serious issues that are present. As a resident with a wife and young family, its a frightening thought that an increase in the homeless, many of whom have other serious social issues will be ever present outside my family home. This development will lower the value of my home and lower the quality of my family life
I agree with the above comment that the list of Pro's would be applicable to any place in Worcester, and does not in any way explain the logic behind the proposal to site this development in a residential area already blighted by anti social behaviour, drinking and drug use from non residents.
ReplyDeleteEven leaving aside the issue of the flats, the outreach services located in the development are a major issue.
The suggestion that the fact the centre would be by appointment only, therefore this should not be an issue strikes me as totally out of touch with what is already happening at Goodrich House. Service users do not just turn up for their appointment and then leave again. Frequently they bring friends who hang around in the car park drinking, then after said appointment they generally move as far as Black Horse Walk where they crack open another can and urinate on any available surface. Fights are frequent and drugs are dealed openly. The service is also used by people who are aggressively begging in Black Horse Walk and Lowesmoor, which can be very intimidating.
At the meeting at Goodrich House the architect suggested that it might be a possibility for the developers to contribute to a security camera which would stop most of the problems. Upon having it pointed out that there already is one and nobody pays a blind bit of notice to it, he had no further suggestions.
Whilst I completely agree that move on accomodation is a neccessary and worthwhile resource to have in Worcester, I believe that the suggested site is totally unsuitable. The Tobys Tavern site would have been ideal, on a main road without numerous alleyways and carparks for people to utilise for drinking etc. The exact opposite applies to Sansome Place, where the homeless community of Worcester currently do whatever they like with complete impunity.
Asking the residents in the local area to accept a development which in all likelyhood will add to the problems we are already suffering here is a step too far.