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Julian Fulbrook |
Plan to open needle exchange near playground sparks anger
Consultation ‘lacking’ over siting of borough’s biggest drug treatment centre
A CHARITY hopes to open a drug treatment centre and needle exchange in a quiet residential back-street on the borders of Holborn and King’s Cross.
The Crime Reduction Initiatives (CRI) – which already runs a similar treatment centre in Royal College Street, Camden Town – is seeking permission to operate Camden’s biggest drug treatment centre at 14 Roger Street. The three-storey building, near a cobbled mews and close to a primary school, was on a shortlist of secret locations for the West End Drug Treatment Centre revealed by the New Journal last month.
Holborn and Covent Garden Labour councillor Julian Fulbrook said: “I am certainly very unhappy about this. Anyone with an element of local knowledge would know it was close to Coram Fields playground and St George the Martyr Primary School. Consultation on this has been completely lacking – except for one meeting councillors had to invite themselves to.”
King’s Cross Labour councillor Jonathan Simpson added: “This has been an absolute shambles since the beginning. The whole community is up in arms.”
NHS Camden, the borough’s health authority, consulted residents’ groups over the summer on the principle of bringing together all of south Camden’s drug treatment services somewhere in King’s Cross, Bloomsbury, Holborn or Covent Garden.
Residents said they could not comment if they did not know precisely where it would be.
Liberal Democrat community safety chief Councillor James King confirmed that a panel of officials has chosen two preferred providers for the service.
At least one other application to potentially open the centre somewhere else will be made to the planning department. He said: “For each site we have an application for, we will have a specific meeting of the liaison group on that location.
“This is a complex process. But there will be a lot of opportunity for people to comment during the planning process.”
A final decision will be taken on December 9 by the council’s executive. |
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