Campaign Day 2 - Responsibility in the community at the Colonies

A guest house on East Hermitage Place has been taking guests that have caused problems in the local area. Residents have complained of -

- tips stolen from a local restaurant

- staff pestered for money during breaks

- discarded bottles and needles

- drinking at 9am as children go to school

- noise during the night

The guest house has been used to help relieve Edinburgh's housing needs. However, there is little management or concern about what its patrons are doing in the local area.

There are even plans to expand the building to 25 rooms. This has alarmed local people greatly. One resident said to me: 'I'm sympathetic, but enough is enough. The plan is to expand the house and makes the rooms tiny: it's inhuman.'
This resident, although objecting to patrons' behaviour, still felt concern at the small space vulnerable people were to be housed in. People I spoke to were sympathetic, up to a point. The point being their and others safety.

Another resident, a mother of two, said: 'I don't want to be taking my children to school with needles lying on the ground. I don't want my kids to see that. We're a community down here and we all look out for one another.'

I am glad that the council participates in a compassionate policy towards vulnerable people or people undergoing difficulties, however, there has to be a shared understanding of what is acceptable in a community. Communities should have the final say on what their children are exposed to and what surrounds them. The policy should be operated very tightly and immediate action taken if patrons or proprietor are not living up to their end of the bargain. I do not believe that people should make money without a responsibility to the community they operate in.