'Why we shouldn't close Torquay's homeless hostel'

Torquay's Castle Circus area has been the centre of attention for all the wrong reasons.

Drink and drugs and anti-social behaviour are the first things many associate with the top end of town. Some say it has even become something of a no go area.

Various agencies, including Torbay Council and the police, have joined forces to try and resolve some of the issues and problems.

Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez - herself a resident of Torquay - has invested hundreds of thousands of pounds on various initiatives to tackle crime in the area, including hotspot policing and a mobile police station.

Much finger-pointing has been aimed in the direction of the Leonard Stocks homeless hostel as the cause of some of the problems. Some would like to see it closed for good.

But here Nick Pannell, chairman of the Friends of Factory Row, challenges those who think closing the homeless hostel will benefit anyone, not least the Bay’s rough sleepers:

There's no point arguing for the closure of the homeless hostel in Factory Row,  Torquay without suggesting an alternative.

Unless of course you don’t care about rough sleepers at all and would have the police round them up and drive them out of town. If so, you may as well stop reading now as I don’t think we can have a reasonable conversation.

If someone is bold enough to make a suggestion as to where the hostel could be relocated that should be seriously considered but I guarantee high levels of opposition from the surrounding neighbourhood. When the YMCA suggested opening a six bed unit for 18-25-year-olds at Roundham in Paignton last year there were over 30 objections and a petition.

The Leonard Stocks hostel in Factory Row which opened in 1991 houses 29 people, most with complex needs which cannot be easily met in any other setting. The devastating consequences of drug and alcohol addiction, often rooted in mental disorder, make independent living nigh impossible.

Factory Row is the last safety net, the only door off the street for so many. It has prevented numerous deaths.

I work in Torquay town centre. I too see the gatherings of people under the influence of many substances in the Castle Circus area, people shouting, occasional acts of violence.  But it is a mistake to assume that these are hostel residents and its closure would eliminate anti-social behaviour in Union Street.

Every town centre has its drinkers and drug users. You cannot stop people with a shared “interest” congregating unless you enforce levels of social control which we in this country rightly reject.

A few years ago, elected Mayor Gordon Oliver, tried to withdraw funding from the hostel in Factory Row. Interestingly the police objected, standing with the Friends of Factory Row, local churches and community groups to argue that the hostel was part of the solution to rough sleeping, and resulting anti-social behaviour, not the cause.

And if you stepped inside the hostel and saw the wonderful work underway to rehabilitate men and women from all walks of life whose lives have fallen apart and hear their stories of recovery, you would be less swift to judge the place.

The rough sleeper count in November for Torbay was 29, a snap shot on a set route which always understates the true figure. I remember when it was five. There are currently 10 people on the waiting list for beds in the hostel all of whom will need to have a local connection. In 2024 the hostel welcomed 52 people through its doors, many of whom had been on the streets for months waiting for a place. Many of those have now moved on to independent living, reclaiming their place in society.

Close the hostel without creating a similar facility and homelessness will become much more visible around Torbay – encampments of rough sleepers will spring up all over the place. Closing the hostel may solve one problem but it could create a dozen others.

So the solution is not closure but zero tolerance of anti-social behaviour around it. Hostel staff work closely with town centre police to achieve this. Police commissioner Alison Hernandez is deploying extra police in the area to crowd out the criminal element and enforce local bylaws.

The Leonard Stocks centre is a purpose built-hostel which has been saving lives for 30 years. It is easy to close something, very difficult to re-instate it.

If you want to find out more about the Friends of Factory Row go to our website at:  https://friendsoffactoryrow.org/