Homeless people have hit out after learning the council and local residents are prepared to house people from overseas while they face having fines imposed for sleeping on the street.
Rough sleepers watched on as a pro-refugee vigil was held in Town Hall Square on Saturday and one woman from the group walked over to find out what was going on.
Cheshire West and Chester Council, which was represented by its chairman Cllr Bob Rudd, later confirmed it was exploring what levels of support and accommodation could be provided.
'No local connection'
Some homeless people are annoyed that those among them regarded as having ‘no local connection’ with Chester find it difficult to access to statutory services while people from Syria will be helped. CWaC says the ‘local connection’ policy was inherited from the previous administration and its 'effectiveness and fairness' will be reviewed.
Homeless man Frank Quinton told The Chronicle: “Welcome the migrants! They are going to house migrants when they tell us we’ve got no local connection.”
Frank said homeless people had sympathy with the refugees, but added: “But if they can help them, they can help us. What’s the difference?”
And he was aware of the council’s proposed Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) which could see fines imposed for sleeping in any public space or unauthorised busking.
He said the vigil outside the Town Hall was to 'rub our noses in it'. He insisted he was not attacking the refugees but was 'having a go at the council'.
Frank, who said he rejected a place in Ellesmere Port because the damp made him ill, added: “If they can spend all that money on this proposal, why don’t they spend that money on trying to make somewhere like a hostel where they’ve got separate rooms or bed-sits. They’ve got plenty of empty buildings.”
His friend Kenton McDonald is regarded as having no local connection but unable to return to Deeside, where his family live, because of a court order relating to his drug habit. He earns his money by playing the harmonica rather than stealing, as he used to, and doesn’t want to 'go back down them routes' but the PSPO would force him in that direction if he did not pass the busker quality assessment.
Ex-servicemen
He said there were thousands of ex-servicemen on the streets who didn’t receive enough support and they were treated like 'something on your shoe'.
Cllr Robert Bissett, who is also chief executive of the Chester Aid to the Homeless charity, praised the generosity of Chester people towards the homeless and victims of humanitarian disasters over the years including the current refugees. He said there was support for homeless people but a question-mark over whether there comprehensive statutory provision.
“It’s difficult to get a bed in this city if you are homeless,” acknowledged Cllr Bissett, who said there would be a review of homeless services as part of the PSPO process. He added:
“If I think, both as CEO of CATH and as a politician, that there is not adequate provision then I will be saying so because we can’t afford to put something in place if we’ve not got adequate provision for these people. We are there to be shot at as far as I’m concerned.”
