North East Lincolnshire homeless centre hoping to address antisocial behaviour
Grimsby's Hope Centre had planned to expand, but opposition from residents has stalled progress.
Last updated 27th Jul 2023
The Hope Centre currently offers 12-15 places in a night shelter, but new plans would see an extra five places designed to offer longer-term support for those requiring more stability, such as those suffering from mental illness.
However, people in the area including those living in Hope House across the road, claimed the centre's clients engage in antisocial behaviour which is having an adverse effect on the community. 30 residents signed a petition in opposition to the new building.
They wrote: “We at Hope House (the Old Seamen’s Mission) across the road in private flats are fed up with the homeless trying to constantly get in here to sleep when there are no beds available for them in Harbour Place.”
The petition organiser added in their objection letter: “All I get is constant abuse from them when I tell them that this is a private property”.
The application will alleviate the situation
Andrew Brown is Chair of the Hope Centre, run by Harbour Place, and said that he's been in talks with some of those residents to try to understand and fix the issues.
He said: "I don't see that as directly relevant to the planning application if I'm honest, because the application will alleviate the situation rather than exacerbate the situation in terms of having too many people wanting to get in the night shelter than we can get in of an evening.
"The fact the decision is deferred and not refused means as long as we can supply a bit more information and a few more assurances I still believe that we'll eventually have a positive decision."
North East Lincolnshire's planning committee heard that the new development would also help bring in more revenue for Harbour Place, increasing its sustainability in a time where donations are falling due to the cost of living crisis.
Andrew Brown said: "There are occasionally issues in this area with antisocial behaviour generally and I'm not going to deny that they ever relate to Harbour Place because sometimes they will do but sometimes they clearly don't.
"We're realistically looking now at getting the provision in for next summer into autumn of next year which is quite a way away for the people who are in need of this. Frankly it's just so needed for some of the most vulnerable people in our community."