Leith locals left questioning if removal of benches outside shopping centre will reduce anti-social behaviour
Business owners in Edinburgh have been left questioning if the removal of two benches - which were taken away in a bid to reduce anti-social behaviour - will have any impact on trouble in the area.
The City of Edinburgh Council removed the benches outside the Newkirkgate Shopping Centre in Leith, after reports of frequent disturbances in the area.
Shopkeepers in the area told the Evening News there are incidents almost every day and blame a group who they say regularly gather around two benches in front of the shops, consume alcohol and drugs, intimidate passers-by, fight amongst each other and often leave discarded needles and broken glass.
The council said removing the benches this week was a ‘temporary’ measure made ‘with the best interests of everyone in mind’. But local residents and businesses said the decision just means that the group hang around the shopfronts instead. They added that elderly people who also used the benches no longer have a place to rest.
One local resident said: “They still come to the same area as before, but now they sit on the ground so it hasn’t solved the problem. There’s still some pretty dodgy stuff that goes on there and I still see needles on the ground.” Another resident said they spoke to the group about the benches being taken away and was told ‘we’ll just use the nearby tram stop if the benches don’t come back.’
“They run this area now”
A local business owner said: “I was there when the council removed the benches and the group was complaining about it – one guy even tried to hold it down whilst workers were removing it from the ground.
“But now shop fronts have become the new benches for this group. Everyone I’ve spoken to is happy that the benches are gone and although I think removing them is a good start, it hasn’t stopped the shoplifting - shops are getting robbed every single day. Drug use is rife and the area is gone because it’s them that run this area now, not the businesses.
“There are four to five fights a week, they intimidate people and it affects businesses because people don’t want to come in when they’re outside. I think the police can make the biggest difference here.”
Another woman who works in the area said: “This group makes it awful for people here but I have mixed reactions to the benches being removed. Some people rely on these benches, elderly people would use them in the morning and now they can’t. But maybe it is a good thing because we’ve got businesses to run at the end of the day.”
Another worker within the shopping centre said removing the benches ‘is penalising elderly people’. They said: “We have one regular customer who would always wait on the bench until we opened but now he stands outside the shop because there is nowhere for him to sit, and it’s sad to see.”
“The benches are not the cause of the alcohol and drug addiction problems”
The move has also drawn criticism from Leith councillor Katrina Faccenda who said ‘no consultation was carried out with either ward councillors or community representatives.’
The Labour councillor said: “I fully appreciate how upsetting and frightening the behaviour around these benches can be some days and as Leith residents know the anti-social behaviour is not new but these benches are not the cause of the alcohol and drug addiction problems that fuel the behaviour we see around those benches.
“We already have considerable drinking and drug-taking issues in the churchyard and also around Sandport Bridge before the roadworks and in my opinion removal of the benches takes away an asset from the entire community and just displaces the anti-social behaviour to someone else’s front door or stair. Many people might want a wee seat on the way to or from the shops and this has been removed from them.
“More police and better funded mental health and addiction services would go a long way to better community safety in Leith.”
Another local business owner reported ‘a lot of businesses are scared by the trouble’ that seems to ‘happen every day’ but believes the anti-social behaviour may have reduced as they have seen fewer police visits in recent days.
They said: “I don’t know how much removing the benches will help but sometimes the police would be here two to three times a day and I’d say it has been less this week. But they are still there, getting drunk and yelling at passers-by and it’s completely unacceptable.”
One resident, who has worked in the area for two decades said: “The benches are better gone to be honest because the incidents have been getting worse. Especially during the festival when there is always more of them because I think they’re moved on from the city centre.
“But it affects us businesses and it’s not fair. These people are always drinking and always fighting with each other – there’s even been times when I’ve had to close the shop early because it felt too dangerous.”
Councillor Stephen Jenkinson, the city’s transport and environment convener, said: “We took the decision to temporarily remove these benches following feedback from Police Scotland on antisocial behaviour in the area. I appreciate this decision may be disappointing to some residents but ultimately this was taken with the best interests of everyone in mind. We’ll monitor the situation alongside Police Scotland and in the meantime the benches have been relocated to Taylor Gardens.”
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "We work with a range of partners to reduce incidents of antisocial behaviour in the Leith area, while protecting the wider community. We remain committed to supporting the local community and will take appropriate action when incidents are reported to us. Anyone with information about antisocial behaviour in their community is encouraged to contact us through 101."