'We will chain ourselves to the railings over these Shrewsbury homeless plans'
Angry Shrewsbury residents are vowing to 'chain themselves to the railings' to prevent a former care home being turned into 'supported housing'.
After residents noticed the premises at Berwick Road boarded up, a bed-sheet banner appeared over its railings at the weekend accusing Shropshire Council of being 'rats'.
Now a planning application has been lodged by Shropshire Council for the site to provide 25 flats for people who may be in temporary accommodation.
"Residents will chain themselves to the railings over this," said objector Paul Perry. "The banners were put up because of the frustration the local residents feel about the lack of transparency we feel.
"A lady has just moved into a million pound house in the area and now looks out on to this.
"We feel compassionate for the individuals but this could sweep the homeless and people with mental health problems and turn this into a ghetto. Twenty-five flats is too many, 10 would be more like it but then they would say it is not using the premises enough."
"When the site was used to house homeless people before there was brawling, drug taking, urinating in the streets, serious sexual misconduct and even a stabbing," said Mr Perry.
