A parish priest said he was forced to clean up used needles discarded by drug users on a school route because the Welsh Government's street cleaning team did not show up to remove them. Father Dean Atkins, of St Mary's Church in Butetown, Cardiff, said he discovered four needles in the underpass between Lloyd George Avenue and Bute Street on October 24.
The location was just a short distance away from the church and St Mary the Virgin Church in Wales Primary School. Father Atkins explained that Cardiff Council would not remove the needles because they do not own the land. "The problem we've got in Butetown in reporting discarded needles is that lots of the land – lots of the public pavements and space – is not owned by the local authority and so they say it's not their responsibility to pick up needles from those places," said the 52-year-old.
"The Welsh Government owns certain parts of [the land] so they have separate contractors to clean those needles up." Father Atkins raised the problem with his local councillors and one of them contacted the contracted company to remove the drug paraphernalia. "I thought she was successful but when I returned the following day the needles were still there at 9.45pm," he said. He decided to pick the needles up himself that night, using kitchen roll and a bottle, as he was concerned children would pick them up the next day.
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The church leader pointed out the confusing nature of the cleaning system. "If you go to Cardiff Council on their interactive map and pinpoint where the drugs are the response is: 'This is private land, contact the owner.' I've also emailed through and they've responded saying: 'Sorry, this is not on council land, report it to the police.'
"So it's really difficult – there's no connecting up between these different organisations with that responsibility. There's not a clear indication as to who to contact when the needles are discarded and if you pick up needles what do you do with those needles then?"
He said while he acknowledges the council and Welsh Government contractors do clean Bute Street he doesn't believe that they're doing a thorough enough job. "Because these needles have been there for a few days and it's difficult to know how to report things to them so they can respond immediately. Technically it's hazardous waste."
The priest said drugs and discarded drug paraphernalia had been a long-standing problem in Butetown which the local authority, councillors, and many community leaders from diverse backgrounds had worked together to address. He estimates he's picked up hundreds of needles himself over the last six years and he's even kept a needle box to collect them.
"Sometimes you can see needles [in the underpass] every few days," he said. Lots of work had been done to get on top of the problem before Covid but the issue had worsened again since the lockdowns ended, he added.
"We're quite concerned as community leaders that problem is getting out of hand," he said. "We're trying to raise the profile and trying to get whoever is responsible to help with clearing these needles up. We know that doesn't solve the root problem but it solves a problem of having discarded needles on a school run."
A Welsh Government spokesman said: “We would like to thank Father Atkins for clearing the discarded needles and drawing this to our attention. The private finance initiative (PFI) contractor and Cardiff Council are in dialogue regarding this ongoing problem.”
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