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Objectors force U-turn on drug super-clinic bid
Needle exchange near schools ditched
CAMPAIGNERS are celebrating after a charity withdrew its bid to open a hard-drug treatment centre and needle exchange near two primary schools in Holborn.
More than 200 objectors, including Holborn and St Pancras Labour MP Frank Dobson and his election rival, Conservative George Lee, lodged objections with the Town Hall over the proposals for 14 Roger Street.
Crime Reduction Initiatives (CRI) – a national charity which provides a similar service in Royal College Street, Camden Town – has confirmed it is no longer interested in the site.
In a statement, CRI director of London operations Mark Moody said: “After a comprehensive environmental scan on the property in Roger Street, CRI felt that this property would not be suitable for our needs and therefore withdraws the application.”
The U-turn follows lobbying from newly-formed Roger Street Action Group (RSAG), a body made up of 170 residents and business owners. RSAG spokesman Stephen Hargrave said: “They could hardly have come up with a less suitable site, a quiet back street just round the corner from two primary schools.”
Mr Dobson, in a letter to the planning department, added: “While people living in Holborn do not expect rural bliss, they are entitled to the quiet enjoyment of their homes and streets. This will be denied them if the centre goes ahead.”
The super-clinic, which will bring all south Camden’s drug services together under one roof, aroused intense speculation after Town Hall bosses refused to say where it would be sited during consultation in the summer.
The New Journal revealed a list of vacant properties being considered by CRI and another unnamed provider. They include 285 Gray’s Inn Road, 291 Gray’s Inn Road, 14 Acton Street, 22 Bloomsbury Street, 19 Doughty Street and a house in Flitcroft Street, St Giles.
A council spokeswoman said: “While there is currently no identified location for the centre we are actively looking at options. The council’s executive will be considering a report in December, where they will be asked to choose between two shortlisted providers.
“The proposed start date for the service is February 1. The successful bidder will initially operate the service from a number of satellite sites if a fixed location has not been identified. The two shortlisted service providers were invited to submit planning applications at their own cost for their preferred locations for the service.” |
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