Shops call for action over rough sleepers
Shop owners who say they have had enough of homeless people urinating and leaving mess in their doorways are calling for action to be taken.
Chris Hill, owner of Hill's Butchers in Duke Street, Wellington, said that cleaning up dirt and furniture is a daily occurrence when he opens up in the morning.
Last week a campaign to encourage visitors and businesses to invest in the area called Love Wellington was launched. But Mr Hill believes the problem with mess will put people off visiting the town.
He said: "We've been here six years. They're trying to promote Wellington but if we don't get something done about this, no-one will want to come here.
"I'm tempted to pick up all the stuff up and take it to the council and see what they think when they've got to sort out the mess. I've had enough of it and so have other business owners. Every single morning we're having to phone up and report it and clean everything up.
"We pride ourselves on high standards and quality of service and it makes our job harder. We want people coming to the town."
Russell Griffin, spokesman for Telford & Wrekin Council said: “We are aware of the issue of rough sleepers in Wellington and are taking urgent steps to address the problems, including working with Wellington Town Council, West Mercia Police and local charitable organisations to do everything we can to assist and support the local business community, shoppers and those that are homeless."
He also said that on the day Shropshire Star reported the problem to the council, police moved the rough sleepers on and the council's contractors helped clear a vacant unit and were cleaning up other areas in Wellington homeless people had been using.
“Today council enforcement officers were looking to issue community protection warning notices to those rough sleepers that are still within the town centre area," added Mr Griffin.
"While this is a warning, if it is not complied with it can lead to further actions being taken in partnership with the police.
“We are also in the process of securing permission to close off access to the three areas being used by rough sleepers in the centre of Wellington.
“We will also be holding a multi-agency meeting to agree next steps to provide a longer term solution to the problem.
“Some of those involved are not UK residents, and as such the council cannot treat these people as homeless and cannot legally provide them with shelter and other homelessness support we would normally provide.
“Last year Telford & Wrekin Council’s cabinet allocated £100,000 of the Telford 50 legacy funding to tackle the root causes of homelessness in the borough with the focus on preventative measures. This is against a backdrop both regionally and nationally of an increase in incidents of homelessness.”
