“St Agnes Park community in despair”

Colourful ribbons hang from lampposts, birdsong can be heard overhead and spring daffodils decorate the grass – but there is a dark side to St Agnes Park that is putting children in jeopardy.

Drug-dealing is rife and people who live and work in the area have witnessed needles being injected in front of families. They say that volunteers are left clearing the used paraphernalia and the priest is having to clean-up human excrement from the church grounds on a daily basis.

Debris from drug-taking have been found in the children’s play area and St Agnes Church

The “dreadful” situation has led to accusations from Green councillor Jude English that Bristol City Council is “failing in its duty of care”, as members of the community admit to feeling isolated and in need of support that is not forthcoming.

“Between the adventure playground, the park and the church, it’s a bit of a hot spot for drug dealing,” said Guy Dobson, co-executive director of Ape Project, which runs the adventure playground and adjoining centre.

“Some days, it’s all day and can be up to 10 people at a time taking drugs – crack and heroin. We found a used needle in the adventure playground last week.

“There can be dealing going on in the park during the day and the last thing we want is for the children to come across a needle, so we have to do really rigorous checks. We should be part of a big team trying to make it safe. As it is, we feel quite vulnerable ourselves.

“We need some support with the work we are doing here. We are aware that when you move drug dealing on, it goes on to another area, but we feel children need to be protected.”

The Ape Project is working to prevent young generations from turning to drugs

He said that the Ape Project is trying to help break the cycle by offering workshops and opportunities for young people, including a bike workshop on site, but he is worried about young people seeing money change hands during drug deals and having that as a negative role model.

“There are some amazing people here and it’s a brilliant community, but it’s just this problem with the drug taking,” added Dobson.

Jude English called on the mayor to take action

The matter came to the fore during a recent full council meeting, when English, a Green councillor for Ashley, called on the mayor to take action, saying that people who live and work by St Agnes Park are in “despair”.

“We need some kind of resource being put into that area to help people – the priest has got to clear human excrement from in front of the church on a daily basis and there are needles in the park,” said English.

“Yes austerity is happening, but what can we as a city do to help these people?”

Reverend Liz Perry says she has to clear human excrement from the church grounds on a daily basis

Reverend Liz Perry, the priest in charge of the St Paul’s parish, told Bristol24/7 that the problems have escalated to such proportions over the last six months that she is really struggling to keep the area around the church clear and safe.

Yet, she says a response from the council this week stated that it does not have a responsibility to clear the pathway through the church grounds as it is on private property.

“That’s not to villainise the people concerned,” said Perry, “They are themselves vulnerable. They are dropping their trousers in full view of the children’s play area and defecating in the church grounds.

“It is a specialist issue to pick up clinical waste and yet, it is being left to us.”

Guy Dobson says he wants to keep children safe from needles and drug-taking

She added that the Ape Project is doing a fantastic job in the area and the church runs a number of programmes to help those in need and help people recover from addiction, yet says they are “drowning” in trying to keep the problems at bay and the area safe for children.

The police say they are aware of issues with anti-social behaviour and drug-taking in the area and are working with partner agencies to tackle them head-on.

“As a neighbourhood team, we’re actively liaising with the local community and have a problem-solving plan in place, which includes intelligence-led patrols to increase our visibility in the area and a proactive operation targeting on-street dealers,” said Sergeant Mark Aston.

“Working with the local community is absolutely key in addressing these ongoing issues and we need information on when and where these crimes are happening to help us deal with them effectively.”

A Bristol City Council spokesperson said the parks litter team do visit and litter pick at St Agnes Park twice a week, adding: “Given the potentially dangerous nature of this type of litter we would advise the public not to touch it or attempt to clean it up.

“Instead, people can report it at www.bristol.gov.uk/museums-parks-sports-culture/report-problem-in-park. We respond immediately to reports of this nature and our emergency control teams can be contacted out of hours for this on 0117 9222100.”

But both Perry and Dobson say that while they do keep a log and report incidents, they cannot leave needles in place even for a short while when there is a risk children will find them.

St Agnes Lodge has been sold to the Green House , a charity that provides therapy and support for child victims of sexual abuse

St Agnes Lodge – an empty, boarded-up building that is due to be transferred from Bristol City Council’s ownership to The Green House – was home to squatters until earlier this month, when an eviction warrant was issued. It has since been re-secured but problems outside persist.

In a question to the mayor, English asked: “Can the mayor explain why Bristol City Council is not fulfilling our duty of care to park goers, our tenants at the playground, the purchasers of the lodge and most importantly the vulnerable people sleeping rough and injecting in the park?”

The written reply said: “We are aware of the impact austerity measures is having across public services in the city and are consulting with citizens for a plan for the future of our parks and green spaces.”

Rees invited English to meet with him to talk about “a local solution to a local problem”.

The park is a beautiful area at the heart of the community that’s marred by persistent drug-dealing

Read more: Call for ‘life-saving’ drugs consumption room in Bristol