Current consultation service centre pic: Tom Chlebik
Residents have expressed opposition to Lewisham council’s proposal to open a drug and alcohol treatment centre in Brockley Cross.
The council is currently holding a public consultation on the plans, which, if approved, would see the opening of the centre on Shardeloes Road, Brockley Cross. This would be the main site for users of the drug and alcohol service in the north of the borough.
While the service is currently based on Lewisham High Street, Brockley Cross is a quieter, primarily residential area, with several nearby schools.
The Brockley Cross Action Group, a charity that works to improve the Brockley Cross area, are among those against the proposal. In a statement on their website, they say: “We believe Lewisham Council is making a costly mistake… This is an excellent service, worthy of community support, but it needs to be in the right place. Brockley Cross does not fit the bill.”
The group say the proposed site on Shardeloes Road is not an appropriate choice, due to the inadequacy of the building itself and the transport links available. They are also concerned that the relocation of the main service to Brockley Cross would lead to increased crime and anti-social behaviour in Brockley, which lacks the police resources available at the current site in Lewisham.
At a public consultation event on the proposal yesterday, locals expressed concerns about safety if the plans were to go ahead. Many also said that the Council had not done enough to tell residents about the proposal, and criticised the consultation process.
“Having the centre in that location is a danger for families and children,” said a Brockley resident Caroline, 47. “It’s a fantastic service, but it’s in the wrong location.”
Steve, 30, added: “The consultation from the outset has been a joke.”
John Morgan claimed there are already a number of bail hostels and similar services in the area. “Enough is enough,” he said. “It’s not a case of being ‘NIMBY’… our back yard is full.”
There was also concern that no other potential sites have been proposed by the council. Locals suggested that Waldron Health Centre, New Cross, would be more suitable.
A spokesperson for Lewisham council said there is currently a lack of service provision in the north of the borough. If the proposal is approved, “service users who live in the Deptford, New Cross and Brockley areas will be able to access services more readily.”
On the consultation, the council said: “1,000 households in the immediate vicinity of the proposed site have been contacted asking them to submit their views. Local schools and colleges are being consulted, along with community and voluntary groups, the local Safer Neighbourhood Team and Ward Councillors.”
The consultation document produced by the Council’s Drug and Alcohol Action Team states: “We have carefully considered the potential impact on the local community and how this can be minimised.” CCTV cameras and other measures will be provided to deter crime and antisocial behaviour.
The issue has attracted much discussion on Brockley Central, a popular blog, where comments show a wide range of opinions. One Brockley resident has also started an online petition against the proposal.
ELL spoke to other locals not at the meeting, and many had reservations about the plans. However. Shopkeeper Jay Patel, 45, said: “Obviously they have to treat people so that they get better, and if everyone says no, where are they going to go?”
More information is available on Lewisham council’s website. The consultation will run until December 19. The proposal will be discussed at Brockley Ward Panel, which will be held at Lewisham College on November 17 and Brockley Local Assembly on November 23.
I think perhaps you should check out what you say in this story. As I understand it, the building is near the double roundabout, the timber yard, bakery, shops, newsagent etc. Hardly a residential area. Also I believe that it is a drug & alcohol service – not a “rehab centre”.
These people are trying to get off of drink and drugs, there are also plans for support groups for family and carer. It is in addition to the services offered at Lewisham High Street.
Do you really think that people want to be seen coming in and out of these places? They will probably come in, go to their session then go home.
I wonder where the Brockley Society and these action groups were when the plans for the Bookies at Adelaide Avenue went into Lewisham Council even though there was a bookies straight over the road. And the amount of bars that are opening up in the area selling alcohol!
I wish Brockley residents would get down of their high horses and HELP these people who are asking for help instead of trying to block plans to help those less fortunate get a service they need. There is the Darmouth Road service too, no real increase in drug or alcohol problems there.
I was at the consultation at St Peters, I was disgusted to be included in the group of residents. I was disgusted at the way some of the “action groups” spoke to the Council people who had come to discuss the consultation. It was verging on a personal vendetta against the manager who was trying her best to answer all the questions bombarded at her.
Go to a consultation and LISTEN WITHOUT PREJUDICE!
“Having the centre in that location is a danger for families and children,” said a Brockley resident Caroline, 47. “It’s a fantastic service, but it’s in the wrong location.”
Classic NIMBY
My wife and I live about 130m from the proposed site and we have 2 small children.
The proposed location is a minute commercial area in the midst of a large residential area. I fear that this technical non-residential status will trump the reality of the residential location which includes schools and child-care centres.
Everybody I have spoken to who has lived near a rehab centre tells me they bring loitering, anti-social behaviour and needles in the street. I’m also concerned about Brockley becoming a centre for drug users, more dealers moving in and there being violent conflict between them and with existing drug dealers.
If these concerns make me a nimby then so be it. If it was your neighbourhood and your kids you might also have concerns.
At the consultation meeting last Wednesday, the advocates told us that in their experience of running 150 such centres, there would be minimal problems and we would barely notice the centre’s existence. They emphasised that service users would be a self-selected sample committed to recovery and could be holding down jobs, have children and/or only suffering from a mild problem with cannabis use. When it was suggested that some of the users would only be attending because of court orders, there was muted assent.
The rosy picture painted by the advocates also stood in contrast to testimony of residents who had worked with the client group in question, others I have spoken to who have lived near rehab centres, and the impression given by CRi’s own risk assessment. According to this document, there is a moderate likelihood of moderately severe agression from service users towards staff, volunteers, peer mentors, peer advocates, service users and visitors. This risk will be reduced by issuing all staff with personal alarms. Risks to local residents and passers by are not assessed, but I think we can assume they won’t be issued with personal alarms.
The general impression was one of a meeting divided between advocates and residents, with no honest broker to mediate or give unbiased information. Also sorely lacking was anybody from the organisers who knew how to chair a meeting. This alone went a long way towards undermining the effectiveness of the consultation.
My faith in the consultation process was further undermined by the ‘consultation document’ that advocates said had been distributed to 1000 local residents. Few people in the immediate area say they received the document although many who actually received it may have ignored it because at first sight it looks like a general consultation with no relationship to the local area. Only in the small writing on page 2 would readers find out that a rehab centre is proposed for Shardloes Rd. No street number is given, no map is given and there is no photo of the building.
The document includes a questionnaire that doesn’t ask residents how they feel about having a rehab centre on their doorstep, it only asks them if they want better drug treatment services in the area. There are no quantifiable options that could be used to register opposition. Only one of the text boxes could conceivably be taken as an invitation to voice opposition. This box is at the end, the responder would have had to go through the nauseating series of leading questions to get that far, and any contents would not contribute to the ‘hard statistics’ that end up being presented to the mayor. As an object lesson of how to lie with surveys, it’s only failing is that its shifty guile is all too blatant.
The above considerations seriously undermine my faith in the rest of the assurances from the advocates, including the assurance that this really is the best location. If it really is, then fair enough, it has to go somewhere, and it’s just my bad luck if it turns out badly. However, it’s difficult to believe any assurance when it’s being offered up alongside obvious flim-flam.
Dicon:
IT IS NOT A REHAB!
Most rehabs are in places such as Doset, Wales, Weston Super Mare. Countryside.
Is your complaint about the documentation or the fact there is a proposed drug service nearby? I doubt there will be “more” needles in the street as I would hope the service users wouldn’t be using illegal drugs when attending. Surely they get tested for substances when they attend?
Everybody else:
I too have 2 small children under 5 and thankfully remain unaffected by drugs or drug issues. I have family members who are not so lucky. There are many residents in Brockley addicted to illegal substances. There are also many residents who are alcoholics etc. Perhaps we could ask them all to leave Brockley alone so the likes of us can enjoy it in peace and tranquility. Perhaps we could tell Wetherspoons to move their pub as it would encourage alcoholics to accumillate there?
I really think we are looking at Brockley with rose tinted glasses, the sirens are constant (so the comment about the “police presence” is almost laughable, there’s CCTV all over the place too and I undertsnad this is manned footage so an actual person see’s things as they happen!
Do you really think these centres will encourage more drug gangs into the area? Don’t you think they would be more likely to want to stay away from the limelight?
I’m afraid your comment was too long for me to read the whole of it. Apologies if you addressed any of this in that.
And I too live in Brockley and support this service. They can have my back yard it they like but I don’t think it’s big enough. ; )
The hypocristy is astonishing.
If a new off license was opening in Brockley wouldn’t be a wimper! The people complain need a reality check. If people are accessing treatment / help using a service like this, they are far less likely to be problematic to society. It’s about time people we realistic about alcohol abuse and drug abuse, they are the same thing! People with addiction problems need help and from services just like one – not castigated by daily mail reading hypocrites.
Nice people take drugs too! And I’m certain the majority of people reading this with spite, will enjoy their evening tipple and will joyfully toast eachother if they sucessfully ruin this project with prejudice.
People buy in brockley because it is good value. The prices reflect the negatives. Why do people buy near a busy rd then complain about the noise? Brockley has crime, drug and gang problems so why buy there then try I pretend it is only populated by families?
I have been working in the past for 5 long years with Homeless and Drug/Alcohol abusers.
At any location where there is a centre dealing with this, there will be an increase of all associated problems.