Rest of saga about 11 Mortimer Road- proposal to open as a unit to treat class A drug users

• 5 July 2006: certificate of lawfulness granted despite protests from Barbara Janke and many other speakers. Next step scrutiny commission
• 27 June 2006: Certificate of Lawfulness will be discussed at Development Committee Meeting 5 July 2006 6pm.
• 24 May 2006: Barbara Janke wrote to the Planning Department asking them to change the committee date to 5th July 2pm- which they agreed to do. She then sent a letter to residents to keep them informed. A big thank you to Barbara!
• 23 May 2006: the Planning dept. will be "recommending that the Cert. of Lawfulness be passed by the committee" on 7th June at the Development Control (Central) Committee! A letter will be going out to residents/interested parties in the next 3 days or so and their report will be emailed to the Mortimer Group next Tuesday concerning their recommendations in detail and their technical justifications.
• 5 April 2006: Beck Marsh of AWP
  A decision was made to defer our impact assessment submission to the Scrutiny Committee. It will no longer appear on the agenda of the meeting on the 18th April. We may well submit it later in the year, but will take this time to further explore other options for the service.
  I really appreciate the time and energy that you have given to this issue so far. Many people have given up evenings, attended meetings, answered questions and wondered what all of this will mean for the service. We will continue to seek a solution.
  I'm meeting with Malcolm Sinclair tomorrow to talk about all of this in more detail and will get back to you with more information about what happens next.
• 24 March 2006: As a result of the impact analysis carried out on the 23rd, it was agreed that the community considered the proposals to be a significant variation. The impact analysis had already been performed with users and with staff. Residents will now make a statement at the Bristol Health Overview and Scrutiny Meeting on the 18th April at 2pm at the Council House. This is when a panel will decide on whether they consider the AWP proposals to be a significant variation.
• 23 March 2006: Impact Analysis meeting took place to give community representatives (including Maggie Shapland for CHIS) a chance give their scores.
• 20 March 2006: Public meeting took place in a packed University lecture theatre.
• 6 March 2006: Public Meeting announced for 20th March about the proposal to develop a community drug service in Mortimer Road, Clifton.
  If you would like a briefing paper about the proposal, please phone Beck Marsh on 0117 9186877 or email Beck.Marsh@awp.nhs.uk.
• 7 February 2006: Application 06/00291/CP/C for Certificate of lawfulness for proposed use of building to provide health care services (Specialist Drug Service Team) offered by the Specialist Drug Service Team.
  This was a Mother and Baby Unit
  Comments on this application were sent to Planning, Transport and Sustainable Development, Brunel House, St Georges Road, Bristol, BS1 5UY by 1st March 2006.
• 26 January: Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership states that: The current position regarding Clifton Clinic is as follows:
  We are now undertaking more detailed analysis of user need and the services required to meet that need across the city, within the developing plans for integration of drug and alcohol services. The date for integration to occur for services has been put back two months, partly to allow this work to progress. As part of this more detailed analysis we are reviewing our plans for what services we will site where, including what we intend to deliver from Clifton Clinic.
  It is clear to us that we need to do more work before setting out detailed proposals for the use of Clifton Clinic. We have also in response to local concerns decided that, following the service and access/transport reviews, we would wish to undertake a full Impact Assessment with all stakeholders including the Primary School, Service Users and members of the local community including your group.
• 18 January: Mortimer Action Group set up www.mortimergroup.org.uk web site
  At the meeting of the CHIS Executive Committee on 10 January it was agreed to inform CHIS members about the Clinic, the following letter was sent out on 13 January 2006:
  Until recently the large building at 11 Mortimer Road was divided into two; one half being used as a maternity clinic and the other half, the Robert Smith Unit, for people with alcohol addiction. In December 2005 the maternity clinic was moved elsewhere.
  The Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Trust plans to take over the whole building setting up a rehabilitation centre for Class A drug addicts (heroin and crack cocaine users). As the building already has planning permission for ‘the treatment of patients’, no further application for planning permission is required although the Trust will be applying for a ‘Certificate of Lawfulness’ from the City Council.
  Two meetings with local residents have been held and a Mortimer Road residents’ group has been set up to oppose the development. Their main objections are:
  • an inappropriate location - the building is close to Christchurch Primary and other schools and in a residential area
  • an increase in congestion - 40 to 50 more people coming to Mortimer Road each day and lack of adequate transport
  • a lack of consultation with residents.
  The Trust state that:
  • only the most stable, motivated and committed clients will attend the clinic
  • any client breaching their care plan agreement can be discharged from the service.
  • clinics in other areas eg St Michael’s Hill have received no complaints from residents.
  The Trust has put its plans on hold and the Director, Malcolm Sinclair, hopes to hold a meeting with residents’ representatives in the week beginning 23 January to put forward the Trust’s point of view and explain its policy in more detail. This meeting may be chaired by our local Councillors, Barbara Janke and Brian Price.
  Members wishing to learn more or comment can contact the Mortimer Group by writing to:
  Mortimer Road Action Group
  8 Mortimer Road
  Bristol
  BS8 4EX
  or by email mortimergroup@hotmail.co.uk
  
  The Trust can be contacted by writing to either:
  Malcolm Sinclair/ John James,
  Director of Mental Health Services/ Chief Executive,
  Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust,
  Green Lane Hospital,
  Devizes,
  Wiltshire
  SN10 5DS
  or email malcolm.sinclair@awp.nhs.uk We should be grateful if you would pass this information on to non-members and ask them to comment.
  The CHIS website www.cliftonhotwells.org.uk will also keep members informed of developments.
• January 11 2006: Malcolm Sinclair states that he wants to set up a Community Forum meeting for a "limited number" of 6/8 residents in January (trying to get an evening in the week commencing 23rd January) to be able to work through "issues/concerns/proposals" in detail. Councillors Barbara Janke and Brian Price would both like to be at such a meeting and may well chair it, as they wish to ensure that residents have a chance to challenge and question them.
• Dec 2005: The Chairman spoke by telephone to one of the main officers representing the Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust and attended the drop-in session on 13th December in order to hear responses to queries and worries of CHIS members. Not being told that later in the evening a general question and answer session would be held, the Chairman did not stay to hear its outcome- very unfortunately. In a letter to Barbara Janke, who had asked for our views, he said that the consultation had not been handled well. The resulting loss of trust among residents must be addressed, with time for much greater reflection and detailed response to the many doubts expressed, before any work goes ahead.
  If CHIS members have views on the proposal, please send them to:
  • Barbara Janke, Leader of Bristol City Council, The Council House, College Green, Bristol BS1 5TR
  • Mr Stephen Williams MP (local MP), P.O Box 2500, Bristol, BS6 9AH
  • Malcolm Sinclair, Director Mental Health Services, Wilts, Swindon
  • Mr John James, Chief Executive, Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership Trust, Bath NHS House, New Bridge Hill, Bath, BA1 3BF
  • Addiction and CANHS, Avon and Wilts Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust, Green Lane Hospital, Devizes, Wilts SN10 5DS
  See also the lengthy reports in the 'Clifton Chronicle' 22 December 2005, and 12 January 2006 part of which is reproduced below. Our views have also been sent to the Chief Executive of Avon and Wilts Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust
  Today this newspaper calls for an immediate halt to plans to open a clinic for dependent patients -mainly for those trying to kick a heroin or crack habit - in the heart of a residential area with young families and along the road from a primary school in Clifton. The Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust, who provide a specialist alcohol service for patients based at a clinic in Mortimer Road. has linked up with the Bristol Specialist Drug Service which currently provides services at a number of locations across the city. With less than two weeks notice, neighbours and residents have been shocked to learn that the Maternity Unit has closed and relocated to another district and the £150,000 building works for the expansion of the site are scheduled to start on 13 January 2006. There has been inadequate consultation with the local community and of the parents of children attending Christ Church Primary School, just a few yards away, have not been informed.
  Local residents - alongside this newspaper - appreciate and understand that there is a critical need in Bristol to help users escape the cycle of drugs and crime. However, they do not understand, and despite questioning, have received no satisfactory answers as to why this location is appropriate.
  From analysis of the Trust's own data it seems that of the 600 or patients that will be seen in Clifton Village every four weeks, the majority will have to catch two buses across the city for treatment. They also cannot accept the unexplained haste with which this project appears to have been rushed through and the lack of due diligence and consideration shown to both Clifton residents and users of the service who will be forced to travel long distances to attend the clinic.
  Readers are urged to sign the petition asking to halt the plans immediately and call for a formal consultation process in which the local community's questions can be answered. Please complete the petition to say NO to plans for new drug dependency unit, giving your name and address, and return it to the office of the Clifton Chronicle newspaper, 31 St Pauls Road, Bristol BS8 1LX.
  You can also register your protest online by contacting the residents' action committee at mortimergroup@hotmail.co.uk
  Together we will make sure the Trust is fully aware of the opposition to this ill-planned development.