Published: Thursday, 14th August, 2008 9:00am

Dunfermline city centre 'the wrong home' for homeless hostel

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Willie Sullivan

A DUNFERMLINE councillor has called for a controversial city-centre homeless hostel to be closed and for drug addicts living there to be moved out of town.

Willie Sullivan said most cases of shoplifting and petty crime in the city centre could be traced back to the James Bank Hostel on James Street.

He now wants an inquiry to be set up to look at other options for dealing with drug addicts in Dunfermline and where best to house them.

And his comments have been endorsed by a senior West Fife police officer, who said he would be supportive of moves to relocate the hostel"s residents.

James Bank, run by Kingdom Housing, has long been seen by city-centre residents and businesses as a hotbed of criminal activity.

And, Councillor Sullivan, who represents Dunfermline Central, said he had received numerous complaints from people about it.

The Press has reported in the past on the hostel"s problems with residents, many of whom are battling drug addiction.

Tenants have been blamed for throwing used syringes out of the hostel"s windows and there are fears the new Kingsgate extension will be easy pickings for shoplifters staying there.

Mr Sullivan said he was supportive of programmes to help drug users but insisted James Street was the wrong location to house them.

'I think that the whole hostel needs to go,' said Mr Sullivan. 'I don"t think it"s the best site for them and I don"t think we"re offering them the best service, it"s certainly not good for the city centre.

'We need to help these people but I don"t think we"re helping them by sticking them in a city centre location.'

The Labour councillor said putting addicts in homeless hostels and placing them on methadone programmes was counter-productive.

Instead, he would like to see a purpose-built treatment centre located out of town for Fife"s addicts where they can receive help.

'These people have a genuine problem and my view is that society should help them,' he said.

'There are huge questions about the (methadone) programme as well,' he said.

'It"s actually harder to come off methadone than it is heroin.

'It"s supposed to stop addicts stealing but it doesn"t always work.'

Mr Sullivan is now hoping to get the ball rolling on a public consultation on the future of drug treatment in Dunfermline.

He would like a panel, drawn from the community, to hear evidence from experts and residents before making recommendations.

'We need a serious review of what we do with this hostel,' he said. 'These are social issues – why do people feel they have to turn to drugs?

'There"s no easy answer but let"s start talking about it.'

The chief executive of Kingdom Housing, Alan McGuckin, said he would be keen to discuss Mr Sullivan"s concerns with him.

'We would be happy to take part in any initiative that the council wanted to set up to make things better,' he added.

Chief Inspector Bob Baker, of Fife Constabulary, said if the hostel was to be shut down, provisions would have to be made for its residents.

'The hostel is one of the largest in the area which in itself can draw problems to it,' he said.

'Where James Bank is at the moment, there is a lot of facilities and it would be fair to say that some of the residents do become involved in shoplifting and other acts of crime within Dunfermline city centre.'

He continued, 'Whether or not these problems would completely vanish if it was gone would need to be carefully looked at before taking that step.

'If it was the correct step then I would be supportive of that and would be prepared to get involved in the management of any steps between the current situation and the new one.'

Another supporter of the hostel"s closure and relocation is Neil Mackie, manager of the adjacent Kingsgate centre.

He said that over the past two years more than 100 syringes had been found in the grounds of the centre, next to the hostel.

With the new extension set to open tomorrow (Friday), Mr Mackie told the Press that the threat of shoplifters coming from the hostel was causing him 'major concern.'

'It"s always been a worry and it"s a worry I have raised with Kingdom Housing on numerous occasions,' he said.

'I thoroughly endorse the removal of the hostel itself,' Mr Mackie continued.

'It (the proposed consultation) is something I would be happy to get involved in as centre manager.

'Most like minded people don"t have an issue with what Kingdom Housing is trying to achieve it"s just the geography of where the hostel is located and the problems it attracts.'