Option of bedding down in Welsh city centre could soon be lost to dozens as new shopping centre is about to open and councillors want to enforce ban

Stuart and his dog, Misha, were warming themselves in the autumn morning sunshine having spent a chilly night bedded down in the corner of a car park in south Wales. “It wasn’t a bad night really,” said Stuart. “We got a bit of a sleep. Nobody bothered us and we didn’t cause anybody any trouble. It was OK.”

But the option of a night huddled in the car park in Newport city centre could soon be lost to Stuart, Mischa and the dozens of other rough sleepers who make their beds there. A gleaming new shopping centre is about to open and councillors are pushing forward plans to enforce a ban on rough sleepers in the city centre.

“It’s disgusting,” said Stuart, 34. “I’d prefer not to live like I do but I don’t have the help I need. We don’t do any harm, we just want to be left alone.”

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Charities who work with the homeless and champions of human rights echo Stuart’s sentiments. They believe that by enforcing the ban, the Labour-controlled city council will be criminalising some of the most vulnerable in society – and putting commercial interests ahead of compassion.

Construction workers are putting the finishing touches to Friars Walk, the shopping centre that the council hopes will help revive the fortunes of the city centre, providing an alternative to much glitzier Cardiff 15 miles down the M4.

The council’s report on the rough sleepers plan says the opening of Friars Walk in November provides a chance to expand a ban on drinking in public places to take in rough sleeping and begging. Such bans have previously been mooted in Oxford and Hackney in east London but were rejected by councillors.

Earlier this month, Newport’s scrutiny committee recommended a ban to include rough sleepers. They will now be considered by a cabinet member and the full council. All the signs are that the ban will go ahead.

The council says the public space protection order (PSPO) would only apply to those people who have been offered a place to stay but have refused assistance. But breaching the ban is a criminal offence and can lead to prosecution and a £1,000 fine.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest John said of the council’s plans: ‘They just want to get us out of the way.’ Photograph: Aled Llywelyn/Athena Pictures

While Stuart and Misha were setting up a temporary morning camp outside McDonald’s, the Wallich drop-in centre on Commercial Road, not far from the city’s famous Transporter Bridge, was offering coffee and a chance to chat to other rough sleepers.

Over the last year the Wallich has helped 267 people in Newport and staff reckon on average there are around 20 people sleeping rough in the city centre. Most are men, most in their 30s.

“We’re busy here every day,” said the chief executive, Antonia Watson, “A large proportion of those we help have severe health problems or mental health issues. Some have drugs and alcohol problems, others have suffered family breakdowns.”

The vast majority feel they have no choice but to sleep rough. The council provides 125 beds for rough sleepers but the Wallich says many of these tend to go to those whose needs are deemed a priority, such as abused women. “There simply aren’t enough beds for everyone,” she said.

Watson pointed out that banning sleepers in a designated area within the city centre will not tackle the problem. It means that those who stay may be picked up by the police while those who obey the ban will simply be dispersed to another area, where they will find it harder to access services and may not feel as safe.

John, 38, has been in Newport for five years having left his home in Bradford, West Yorkshire, because of “family problems”. He came to south Wales because he had once worked in the steelworks there. “I get my head down wherever I can – parks, car parks, bus shelters.” he said. “They just want to get us out of the way; they’re building this new shopping centre and don’t want us to be seen. I’ll just keep moving around, staying out of the way of the feds.”

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What makes the proposal all the more galling to many is Newport’s proud history of social justice. The charity Liberty described it as an “affront” to the legacy of the Chartists, who marched on Newport in the 19th-century to fight for the rights of the impoverished working class.

Rosie Brighouse, a legal officer for Liberty said: “These proposals make a mockery of Newport’s Chartist legacy. For the sake of a new shopping centre, the council is pouring its energies into criminalising the most vulnerable in the city.

“This won’t house people, move them on, or help resolve their homelessness in any other way – it will simply fine them for their extreme poverty. We urge the council in the strongest terms to reconsider these utterly shameful plans.”

A council spokesperson said: “It is important to note that only a relatively small number of people who are homeless do not have a safe place to sleep, and unfortunately, some choose to do this instead of sleeping in available accommodation or overnight shelter.

“Newport city council wants every person in the city to have a safe place to sleep, every single night. The council has clear strategies and support in place for those at risk of homelessness and those already homeless.”

Rich, 34, who sleeps under a bridge and puts his problems down to “drugs and weirdness”, called the proposed ban stupid. “It’s making life harder for us and making more work for the police. They have enough to do catching real criminals. It’s a waste of time. The council should do more to help us, not just try to get rid of us.”