Residents of Cockett, Swansea, have been left "angered" and "concerned" at plans to create a rehabilitation centre in their community for women who would otherwise have been jailed. The Residential Women's Centre, Class C2A, is planned for the former Trehafod premises of the child and adolescent mental health service, in Waunarlwydd Road.
The Ministry Of Justice has submitted plans to redevelop the site into a new facility aimed at helping women suffering with issues such as addiction and trauma, set to open in 2024.
But residents living nearby said they had been left "scared and worried" for the future, and have questioned if the proposed site is suitable for such a development with elderly residents, three nearby schools and a substantial community already in place. They also claimed a "strong handed" approach was being taken with the development, with no public consultation or acknowledgement of the views of people of the area. You can get more Welsh news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
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It is stated that the proposed development will be the first of its kind in Wales aimed at utilising a "new approach to tackling female offending". The 12-bed centre will be for around 50 offenders a year who would have otherwise been handed a prison sentence of 12 months or less.
The £10 million centre is said to be a key part of the government’s plan to minimise the number of women sent to prison in England and Wales, specifically designed to address the underlying factors driving females to low level-crimes including shoplifting, minor drug and alcohol crimes. You can read the full proposal here.
The Ministry of Justice said residents had been given the opportunity to share their views throughout the planning process. There have been a total of 194 objections to the planning application, with many pointing to the location and its suitability, with pubs, schools and families all located there. Some houses in Waunarlwydd Road have also put up signs protesting against the plan. You can read more stories about Swansea here.
One local resident, who has been developing their first home in the area for more than two years, argued they had been left "extremely vulnerable" and concerned what safeguarding would be in place to protect the community as a whole. The individual, who wished to remain anonymous, said the behavioural centre would be on their "door step" and said questions from the community had "largely been ignored".
"We all agree, within the community, that this feels as though it has purposely been kept from us, and tried to be kept as quiet as possible so as not to give the opportunity for us to object in time. The fact is a lot of the neighbours are elderly and would not have access to the internet to object or make their comments, and are yet to receive anything in the post to notify them of this proposed planning," they said.
"We were not given any notification of this planning even though it is situated directly opposite me, nothing was posted through my door or anything to inform us, I feel as though this was purposely done to avoid giving us the option or at least enough time to object. They then put a poster on the lamppost outside my house after a few residents made contact, and even then I questioned this as there seemed to be no date on it.
"When Porthcawl, Bridgend & Newport were shortlisted for this facility all local residents had letters and their local council backed them up stating they didn’t want it in the area. We as a community haven’t even had that."
The 26-year-old said they were concerned for their safety and argued, "this now makes me never want to move in" as they said the new centre overlooked their home.
"There are plans for a day garden at the front of the centre which will be in view of my property and can see through my windows into my home, it is in open view and there isn't any concern for my privacy. This isn’t only for the 12 female offenders residing in the property, but also other female offenders attending their probation meetings and community service. We do not know what these women have been convicted of, all we know is it will be women who have committed crimes but would serve less than 12 months in HMP.
"These crimes could be of any nature.. burglary, theft, violence, drugs etc and we have to live in our homes knowing these women are also allowed to freely roam the streets surrounding the facility, as they will be expected to go out and get their own food and drinks. This was informed to us in a meeting with the MOJ. They also informed us community service would also be given to these women, like picking up litter in the area etc.
"This makes us residents feel even more vulnerable and unsafe in our homes that this will be going on outside our front doors. The fencing they have put on the plans to surround the site again is not going to give us any privacy or going to stop all the lighting shining through into my property. It states it will be palisade fencing. This is the type of fencing you see placed around schools not a rehabilitation centre for offenders."
After residents raised concerns over the development, the Ministry Of Justice held a drop-in meeting on Monday, July 25, which sparked widespread confusion as it was not deemed a "public meeting" and some claimed "it felt like big brother" as concerned individuals had to queue to one-by-one air their complaints.
Alan Cunningham, 74, has lived in the area for 11 years and expressed concern surrounding the suitability of the area and what long term effects it would have on the community.
"It honestly just feels like they are trying to pull the wool over our eyes and force this development through. I am concerned, not only for myself but also other elderly residents who live in the area and what if trouble spills from the centre onto the community. There are schools and a pub all within walking distance, it is not a suitable location at all and we are desperate to find someone who will listen to us - our complaints are just being ignored," he said.
An estimated 40 residents attended the drop-in session but many were left "disappointed" at the lack of consultation in place ahead of the planning application.
Local resident, Liz, who did not want to give her surname, has been living in the area for over 40 years and argued the information provided to residents was "dire" and felt "ignored by everyone"
"We have received absolutely no information from anyone and the community is really upset about how it all came about. I have neighbours who are 83 who are spending their morning in tears as they are worried. Nobody will listen to us, I have emailed council members and ministers but I have got nowhere. It is not a suitable location for rehabilitating women, it is in a residential area," she said.
"There will be security fencing around the building and a lot of plans to develop the site but all the attention and care seems to be placed on those spending time at the centre and none whatsoever for the nearby residents. First, we had learned of anything was on 20th May when the Welsh Government announced it and it was weeks later before we saw any planning permission being applied for, none of the process was fair to us.
"The drop-in session felt like a divide and conquer approach to the residents. There was no back and forth open communication, it was very much a case of this is happening and you can learn more about it. They told us, they had looked at multiple locations in Swansea and this was deemed most suitable but they wouldn't tell us what other sites were looked at. We are exhausted by it, we just seem to be going round in circles and nobody wants to listen to us at all, we're desperate to do something and running out of options" she said, later adding that "deadlines for objections for the planning permission are August 16, I encourage everyone to air their concerns".
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “Our groundbreaking new centre will stop women from Swansea and the surrounding area committing crime by helping them address issues like substance misuse and abusive relationships that lead to them offending.”
“Residents have been given the opportunity to share their views throughout the planning process and the centre has the support of the Welsh Government and the local Police and Crime Commissioner.”
A spokesperson for Swansea Bay University Health Board said: "Swansea Bay University Health Board no longer owns the property. The planning application has been made by its new owners, the Ministry of Justice. Our Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service vacated the Trehafod site last year as it was no longer fit for purpose, and the service relocated to modernised premises in The Kingsway, in Swansea city centre (part of the service also transferred to the Children’s Centre in Neath Port Talbot Hospital.)
"The empty Trehafod site was then offered to other public service organisations to bid for, in accordance with NHS Wales policy for the disposal of surplus property. The Ministry of Justice bought the Trehafod site to build a step-down residential women’s centre."
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