Call for CCTV cameras to ensure safety with Shrewsbury homeless shelter plan
More details are needed on how a planned homeless shelter will be run to ensure the safety of the rest of the community, councillors have said.
Shrewsbury Town Council is calling for a more detailed management plan for the new facility at Coton Hill House – and for CCTV cameras to be put up around the wider area to help prevent crime and anti-social behaviour.
It comes as the number of objections lodged by members of the public has now surpassed 260, compared to just 13 comments of support.
The proposals for the former care home in Berwick Road were revealed by Shropshire Council last month, but have sparked an outcry among locals. At a meeting of the town council’s planning committee, members said they were broadly supportive of the idea but needed more reassurance about how residents of the area would be protected.
Councillor Nat Green, who represents Quarry and Coton Hill, said: “I have always been supportive of the principle of the development but there are elements to the application that I am not happy about.
“I don’t think the management plan is sufficiently precise. I am of the opinion that there hasn’t been sufficient information as to the training of those [staff members] who would be on site. And in particular, I am very concerned about the safety of females. In the management plan it’s not spelled out how the safety of females will be dealt with.”
Councillor Green said he was also unsure about proposals for six of the 25 apartments to have their own access doors. These flats will be used as a final ‘step down’ to prepare residents for fully independent living away from the facility.
He said: “Those are three things I have picked up on and they have to be explained in greater detail. I hope that those who are putting together this application will go away and come back with a far better management plan that ties down precisely what’s going to happen.”
Councillor Green also said the applicant – Shropshire Council – should install CCTV cover of the wider area, though he accepted this “can’t be put into the planning application” as it would be outside the application site.
He added that it was a tough balance between not wanting to inflict “years of disruption and criminality” upon his community, while also wanting to “give people who are really struggling another chance at life”.
Councillor Kate Halliday told the committee she had discussed the plans with national charity Homeless Link. She said: “They told me a unit of 25 isn’t at all large or unusual. They also felt that the staffing was good.
“They said the really important bit is going to be how staff and the police and the local community are working together. That is crucial to get right.
“I personally feel that the management plan is robust enough.”
If approval is granted, the 75-bed care home will be re-configured to provide 25 self-contained flats which will be offered to people registered with Shropshire Council as being homeless or at risk of homelessness.
Residents will receive training on managing their finances and have access to support from other agencies while living at the site for up to two years. No alcohol will be allowed on site, and strict rules will be in place restricting noise and visitors.
The six flats with their own external will be accessed via new gate, controlled by staff.
The facility will create 12 full-time equivalent jobs, with at least two staff to be on site at any time.
To view the plans, search for ‘Coton Hill House’ on the council’s planning portal.
