1:09pm Friday 19th March 2010
By Peter Magill
DRUGS and alcohol rehab services in Nelson have been dealt a blow after councillors rejected proposals for a treatment centre.
Rehab charity CRI had wanted to open a clinic at former offices in Manchester Road, near the Lord Nelson Hotel, as it assumes control of drug services for East Lancashire Primary Care Trust on April 1.
But amid fears over the impact on £2.5million efforts to revamp Nelson town centre, the bid has been turned down by Pendle Council development control committee.
People with substance abuse problems will now face an eight-mile round trip to Westgate, Burnley, as a stopgap measure, until a permanent home can be found in the Nelson area.
Graham Turner, facilities manager for CRI, said the charity operated 140 similar sites around the UK, many of them in commercial and residential centres. Drug and alcohol users were required to sign codes of conduct, he added, guaranteeing that they would behave reasonably when using such centres.
Extra security measures, like CCTV and panic and intruder alarms, were fitted to all premises as standard, although these were purely a precaution, added Mr Turner.
“The issues in Nelson are already here and CRI will not add to these problems, just provide structured rehabilitation programmes for our clients,” he said.
But the location of the proposed centre and, in particular, proposals to offer a needle exchange service from a rear entrance at the premises, disturbed councillors.
Coun Mike Blomeley said: “I am not happy with this at all.
“Here we are proposing to spend £2.5million on Nelson town centre regeneration and, at the same time, we are proposing to have this sort of establishment.”
Only Coun Howard Thomas defended the rehab centre, which would be similar to other new ventures in Accrington and Clitheroe.
“The problem is wherever CRI had found premises, people would say they were not appropriate,” he said.
Councillors voted to reject the rehab centre on the grounds it would not be an appropriate development in the town centre.
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