May 22, 2019 12.09 pm This story is over 64 months old

Council to gate off listed Usher ‘drug shelter’

The shelter has been subject to long term vandalism
People have been spotted camping out at the shelter within the Usher Gallery grounds. Photo: Joseph Verney for The Lincolnite

Vandalism, fires and anti-social behaviour are behind plans to install metal gates on a shelter in the grounds of the Usher Gallery.

City of Lincoln councillors will be asked to approve the plans for the Grade II listed building in the south east corner of Temple Gardens.

The shelter was originally built within the pleasure gardens of the gallery and a report before members next week will say it “makes an important contribution to the significance of the Usher Art Gallery by enhancing its setting and reinforcing its architectural and historic values.”

The shelter has been subject to fires in the past.

However, the report adds: “The shelter has been subject to long term vandalism including localised fires and detritus from anti-social use and has become unsafe for use by the general public.

“The proposal seeks to provide a means of gated enclosure so that access to the shelter can be controlled and further damage avoided.”

The metal gates would be built behind the existing columns, say the documents.

Documents showing how the gates might look within the shelter.

Recently, the council has been forced to take action against several encampments across the city, including on the grounds of the Usher Gallery where people reported drug taking and vandalism in broad daylight.

Elsewhere in the city, the authority’s plans include building a “permanent fence” under the Wigford Way Bridge.

Recommending the plans to be granted conditionally, the council’s officer says the works will “secure the future of the shelter, guarding against further damage and allowing the shelter in the future to once again fulfil its optimum viable use and preserve the setting of the Usher Art Gallery and preserve and enhance the character and appearance of the conservation area.”

The City of Lincoln Council has recently also put £61,000 into an intervention team tasked with dealing with the problems of anti-social behaviour.

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