Yeovil residents applaud as plans for homeless hostel refused

The Bournemouth Churches Housing Association (BCHA) currently operates the Pathways facility on Newton Road in Yeovil town centre, under a contract with South Somerset District Council.

The organisation applied to take over the former Acacia Hodge care home on the A30 Hendford Hill, relocating all its current residents to the new site – plans which have generated considerable backlash from Yeovil residents.

These same residents are now celebrating after the plans were roundly refused by the council’s area south committee after more than three hours of deliberation.

The council will now work with BCHA to find alternative, smaller sites which can provide the best outcome for homeless people in the district.

Here’s your guide to what happened at this mammoth meeting:

Where is Acacia Lodge?

Acacia Lodge lies at 116 Hendford Hill, a short distance from the busy Quicksilver roundabout which links the town centre to the nearby village of West Coker and Dorset via the A37 Dorchester Road.

It lies within the Yeovil conservation area, a short distance from the popular Quicksilver Mail pub, the Yeovil Country Park (also known as Ninesprings) and the Keyford development site, which will eventually deliver up to 800 new homes.

The four-storey former care home, which has 39 bedrooms, closed its doors in November 2018 after an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) deemed it “inadequate” for meeting residents’ needs.

Since then, the facility has been used by Yeovil Hospital to provide additional bed capacity during the coronavirus pandemic and is currently used by Enable Support Services, which provides mental health services for NHS patients.

The property has been commercially marketed since January 2019, but the council reports there has been “no interest” in reopening the site as a care home.

Why did the BCHA want to relocate?

The Pathways site on Newton Road, which can house up to 30 people, is deemed “no longer fit for purpose” by BCHA.

While the BCHA has been working hard to support residents over the last three years, the organisation feels that the current premises can no longer meet residents’ needs.

The plans for Acacia Lodge would have seen them house 39 residents at the former care home, with the possibility of expansion in the future.

The council’s district executive committee voted in June 2021 to provide up to £390,000 towards the purchase of Acacia Lodge, with the remaining funds being provided by BCHA and Homes England.

However, this grant was dependent upon planning permission for the new facility being approved – meaning to date, not one penny of it has been spent.

The council hopes to improve Newton Road and the surrounding area as part of its flagship Yeovil Refresh regeneration scheme, which has attracted funding from the government’s future high streets fund.

Why are residents unhappy?

Dozens of residents gathered at The Gateway on Addlewell Lane on Wednesday evening (August 10) to voice their displeasure – including numerous members of the pressure group Hands Off Hendford Hill (HOHH).

Nigel Gage, who sits on Yeovil Town Council, said: “The town centre has become a war zone, with the police being unable to control the situation due to a lack of resources.

“It is the older generation who suffer most from perceived or actual crime or disorder. Your contempt for the older generation is absolutely shameful.”

HOHH member Steve Chorley said: “97 per cent of respondents to our survey felt their fear of crime would increase if this plan were to go ahead.

“If you think the fear of crime is unfounded, the number of times the police were called by Pathways over a three-year period was 770 times.”

Thomas Taylor argued the plans went against BCHA’s own vision for accommodating homeless people in smaller units, where support could be more intensive and bespoke to individuals’ needs.

He said: “The facility is too large. The proposals for 39 beds – with the prospect of increasing by a further 40 beds – is in contrast to national government policy and those of charities such as Crisis.

“Even Martin Hancock, CEO of BCHA, advocated smaller housing units in their Clock Tower project in Bournemouth. This is not the best solution for the homeless.”

Pete Lambden, owner of the Quicksilver Mail, said his business and the nursery run by his partner could both close if the plans were approved.

Mr Lambden – who has lived in Yeovil since 1960 – said: “We are in real danger of losing our businesses. My partner Heather, who runs the First Steps Nursery, had had cancellations from concerned parents.

“I’ve been running the Quicksilver Mill since 2002. Between us, we employ 50 people. Heather’s nursery aims to give children the best start in life, and the pub is the community hub.

“The two businesses which neighbour Acacia Lodge are now staring into the abyss. If this goes ahead, I will have to close and retire a few years early – but where will my customers go?

“You can’t fix the bottom of town by watering down the rest of Yeovil.”

Documentary filmmaker Roy Tostevin, who lives on West Coker Road, said: “Nobody wants it – not the community, local businesses, the town council, our MP, and the homeless people we’ve spoken to. Not even the applicants – they’d rather have a different option.

“Only one person appears to be driving this forward: the leader of the council. The plan is wrong.”

Perhaps the most damning contribution came from Gerald Smith, a retired police chief inspector, who branded the former care home “a drug dealer’s paradise”.

He said: “I’m probably the only retired chief inspector that’s policed a homeless hostel for any length of time. Acacia Lodge is one of the worst care homes I ever went to – the rooms are tiny.

“That building from a policing point of view, dealing with a call from the staff safe room, is a nightmare. There isn’t a line of sight worthwhile on any of the landings. That building is a drug dealer’s paradise.

“I’ve policed an 18-bed hostel in a busy town in the south of England, and we’d get called out once a month. You’ve had 700 calls in three years.

“It’s not going to work. Don’t do it.”

Avon and Somerset Constabulary did not provide a formal response to the council during the consultation period, and did not send any representatives to speak at the meeting,

How did local councillors respond?

Confronted with the scale and eloquence of these objections, not one councillor on the committee spoke in favour of the Acacia Lodge plans.

Councillor David Gubbins – whose Yeovil Westland ward includes the site – said residents and businesses would be “disastrously affected” if the plans were approved.

He said: “This will be a recipe for disaster on so many levels. We as councillors are here to help Yeovil prosper, and speak on behalf of our residents.”

Councillor Gina Seaton – who represents the neighbouring Coker ward – said: “It isn’t that we don’t want to help everybody in this area. It is that Acacia Lodge is not fit for purpose.

“I was horrified during the site visit last night [August 9]. Smaller buildings are where we should be going – that is the advice we have received, and it is not beyond the wit of man to achieve it.”

Councillor Graham Oakes (Yeovil Without) added: “BCHA is not a bad organisation – this is just a bad application.

“If we don’t have an official view from the police, I would rather listen to the retired police officer who says there will be a problem – or the people I met during the local elections in the Westland ward who told me they were scared.

“The people of Yeovil have come out and made the point eloquently and articulately. We should reject this on good, sound planning grounds.”

Councillor Kaysar Hussain (Yeovil College) added: “This looks like we are setting up a Shawshank Redemption-style jail or something.

“It will look like a concentration camp – I’m not going to support it.”

What happens next?

After nearly three-and-a-half hours’ debate, the committee voted unanimously to refuse planning permission – prompting widespread applause from members of the public.

The BCHA could theoretically appeal with the Planning Inspectorate in a bid to overturn the decision; however, the organisation has not yet indicated that it wishes to pursue this angle.

The council and BCHA will now work together to see what alternative, smaller sites could be secured to ensure the district’s homeless population is properly supported.