Edinburgh anti-social behaviour: Calls for action after spate of violence at Leith's Newkirkgate shopping centre

In one incident at the Newkirkgate shopping centre at the foot of Leith Walk, a man reportedly suffered serious injuries to his leg in a dog attack.

Foysol Choudhury meets police and local businesses at Newkirkgate shopping centre | supplied

But shopkeepers at the centre say there are incidents almost every day and they blame a group who regularly gather around two benches in front of the shops and often leave discarded needles behind.

The manager of one shop said: "There's endless problems.  There's stabbings all the time.  One day not long ago an addict slashed another addict in the face, then stabbed him in the neck and ran away - it's just a normal thing.

"That bench area was supposed to be for older people who need somewhere to sit, but it's being used as a social area for people who take drugs.

"There's anti-social behaviour every day - people lying on the floor, face-planting the floor because they're so out of their faces. Someone from the pharmacy is always having to come out to check people are still actually breathing.

"Last week there were at least three overdoses  - there was one guy just completely incapacitated on the benches, falling about the place and shouting at anybody going past.

"People come into the shop and say they don't feel safe in this area and I say 'I don't blame you'."

She said in one incident last month a man had been attacked by a dog allegedly owned by one of the group. "His leg looked really badly injured,” she said.

"What concerns me most is there's a school close by and the kids come down here every day to get lunch.  When things like the dog attack happen, I think that could easily have been a child, and there are all these needles around too."

Lothian Labour MSP Foysol Choudhury said he had visited the shopping centre after being contacted by shopkeepers and met police and local businesses to discuss the problems.

He said:  "I was there on three different days - and every day there was an incident, even when I was standing talking to the police. Older people feel very uncomfortable shopping there and ethnic minority people feel very unsafe as well because the guys on the benches are always drunk and screaming at someone.  

"So many of the shop staff said they don't look forward to coming to work because of all this and no-one has done anything."

Mr Chouhury said removing the benches might deter the group from gathering in the area.  And he said the firm managing the shopping centre should have a security guard on duty.   

Shopkeepers say people are deterred from visiting the shopping centre because of anti-social behaviour | supplied

Leith Labour councillor Katrina Faccenda, who also attended the meeting with businesses and the police, said she hoped that Edinburgh Drug and Alcohol Partnership could help with the situation, CCTV monitoring of the area could be better publicised to deter the worst behaviour, and the council could advertise more widely how people could report discarded needles online.

She said she would be sorry to see the benches removed because they were a "community amenity" but suggested they could be repositioned.

"My real interest is a community response to what has become a real problem of not just people hanging around but really violent behaviour." But she said moving the problem onto somewhere else was not a solution. "We've got to get people working together and everyone doing their bit and I think we can improve the situation."   

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We are acutely aware of the disruptive effect that anti-social behaviour has on any community. Local officers are working closely with partners to address these issues and find meaningful long term solutions.

“Dedicated patrols are carried out in the area, with officers providing reassurance to the community as well as engaging with young people and discouraging antisocial behaviour.

"We are committed to encouraging people away from this kind of behaviour but will take appropriate action where incidents are reported and offenders identified. Anyone who has concerns about anti-social behaviour in their area is encouraged to contact police by calling 101 as promptly as possible."

The spokesperson said officers had been called to a report of a man bitten by a dog around 3.40pm on Monday,  June 3.  “The 42-year-old man was taken to the Royal Infirmary for treatment. A 43-year-old man has been charged in connection with this incident and a report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal. The dog was removed to kennels.”

A spokesperson for Newkirkgate shopping centre in Leith said:  “We are aware of the situation and the security at Newkirkgate is under review at this time.”