Fury as council lets homeless set up ‘shanty town’ at former school
A ROW has broken out over a ‘shanty town’ camp set up for homeless people at a former school.
Tents have been erected at the rear of the Groves site in Wrexham, with a portable toilet brought in by council chiefs, who say they are ‘tolerating the situation’ to prevent ‘other problems arising in other areas’.
Barry Roberts, 42, from Wrexham, lives at the camp. ‘It keeps everybody off the streets in one place,’ he said. ‘The Wrexham homeless people are like a community and we try to support each other. We are like a family.
‘We don’t want to cause problems or be in anybody’s way, but we need more support and help to get somewhere to live and start again. If this goes, people will start to drift back around the town centre, and we don’t want that.’
A local resident, who did not want to be named, said: ‘I think it is disgraceful they are being allowed to stay there.
‘If they are being pandered to there, how are they going to get their life restarted? They are not going to want to move on.’
In a letter to the Daily Post newspaper, Robert Williams said: ‘Shanty towns have no place in our town. Many of these unfortunate folk are drug abusers and the health hazard and safety issues of a shanty town could affect the whole town.’
Nick Claffey, of local group Help Wrexham’s Homeless, said: ‘They need to be housed. Growing up in Wrexham, I have never seen so many homeless people around the town centre as in the last couple of years. They need to find somewhere for them to live.’
Council spokesman Hugh Jones said: ‘We want to provide security for residents living near the Groves, and we have a responsibility to protect the building.’
Mr Jones added: ‘The council and its partners also have to consider the welfare of the people living on the site. We all want to see a successful resolution.’