June 3, 2019 10.28 am This story is over 57 months old

Lincoln council to gate off Usher Gallery ‘drug shelter’

Some have slammed the plans for simply “painting over the cracks”
The Usher Gallery shelter before the council fences it off.

The City of Lincoln Council approved plans to gate off a shelter in the grounds of the Usher Gallery.

An earlier report indicated that vandalism, fires and anti-social behaviour were behind the plans at the Grade II listed building.

In recent months people have been spotted camping out at the shelter, but councillors believe that the fence would prevent “further damage.”

“This will secure the future of the shelter,” a council officer noted. “It will allow the shelter to once again fulfil its optimum viable use.”

It has been a spot for rough sleepers to stay.

Not everyone was convinced by the plans when The Lincolnite wrote the original story.

Steve Bond wrote: “It’s not doing anything to solve the problem, it’s just sticking a plaster over it so it looks better but the main issue is still there.”

The shelter has been subject to fires in the past.

Kian Hearnshaw: “This is merely painting over the cracks without doing anything about the underlying issues.

“When will the council step up and help rehabilitate our drug users? I look forward to that Lincolnite article!”

Bella Smith simply asked “where are homeless people suppose to go?”

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.

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.