Published date: 07 October 2016 |
Published by: Jonathan GrieveRead more articles by Jonathan Grieve
THERE are no quick fixes to Wrexham’s problem with discarded drug needles, a council meeting heard.
Cllr Hugh Jones warned Wrexham Council’s safeguarding, communities and wellbeing scrutiny committee while work to move quickly in clearing sites where needles are discarded would help, it would not tackle the underlying problem.
Speaking after Cllr Carole O’Toole reported back on a nine-month-long project to come up with potential solutions, Cllr Jones said dealing with discarded needles without putting measures in place to address the root causes of addiction would be like “using a sticking plaster”.
And he added that without a proper plan in place, the problem could get worse.
Cllr Jones, lead member for communities and partnerships, said: “Cllr O’Toole is right to say that there are no quick fixes.
“This is a report which has taken nearly 12 months to come to fruition and we have three months to respond to that.
“We need to work on prevention because if we are only dealing with the consequences of drug use, we will be using a sticking plaster and the problems will just build year on year.
“There is no easy fix and this is not a problem that will go away overnight. We have to tackle the long-term causes but I do understand and recognise the problemscouncillors have and what the residents of Wrexham need in terms of an immediate response.
“It needs all of us to work together in order to deliver effective solutions to these problems.”
But Cllr Steve Wilson said people were fed up and wanted to see action taken straight away.
“I want to stress the negative impact this it is having on the community,” he said. “Quite honestly, I know what Hugh Jones is saying about working together but people want to see some action.
“My community has had enough of this issue. It has been going on for years and things are getting worse. Up until now, nothing had been happening. Whatever is put in place has to be for the long haul.”
Cllr Wilson added a lot of work had been done recently to clean up some sites, but only after the matter had been highlighted in the press.
He said he feared if it had not been given a high profile, the clean-ups would not have taken place.
But Cllr David A Bithell hit out at the negative attitude of some people in raising the issue.
He said: “There has been a lot of negativity around the town and it does not do us any good. We do need to tackle the problem but people need to take responsibility. Some councillors highlight these issues in the press and I think we all need to act responsibly to reduce the negativity around the town.”
Cllr Jones told the meeting there was currently £11.2 million in funding set aside for the whole of North Wales to address the issue.
Of that amount £4.9m is allocated to Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, while a further £4.9m goes to the area planning board and £1.4m to the North Wales police and crime commissioner.
Cllr O’Toole called on members to see the problem from the perspective of residents in the town.
She said: “It’s important to look at this from the point of view of the resident, the person walking through the town. That is absolutely crucial and we need to keep that perspective in mind. The solutions we are proposing would work for the benefit of us all.”
Cllr Phil Wynn said he had seen first hand the scale of the problem, having recently cleaned up a site near the Morrisons cycleway with the help of volunteers from Cais.
He added he had also witnessed users injecting themselves in the groin in full view of the public in broad daylight near a primary school.
The Unsafely Discarded Needles Task and Finish Group was put together by the committee in November last year, in a bid to look at the problem of improperly disposed drug paraphernalia.
The aim was to devise a series of recommendations which would bring together the local authority health services, and public safety organisations to address the problem of drug litter in Wrexham, and reassure members of the public that if they reported needles they could be confident it would be dealt with.
The task and finish group, consisting of councillors Carole O’Toole (chair), William Baldwin, Colin Powell, Steve Wilson and Phil Wynn, agree a combined approach is needed.
They called for a monthly budget to be set aside by the council to help deal with clearing up drug-related mess until the situation improves.
They say agencies need to work together, providing a clear way for dealing with reports of drugs litter and encampments with timescales and responsible persons, which includes directing people to available services and the use of services of specialist cleaning services if needed.
The councillors hope the measures they have suggested would help restore public confidence in agencies responsible for community safety in Wrexham.
Representatives from Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board and North Wales Police, as well as relevant lead members, agreed to report back to the scrutiny committee in February on progress with the recommendations.
http://www.leaderlive.co.uk/news/167651/-no-quick-fixes-to-deal-with-wrexham-s-discarded-drug-needles-problem.aspx
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