FAMILIES say they fear for their children's safety after the Salvation Army opened a drop-in centre at its base on the corner of East Adam Street and the Pleasance.
They claim that since the centre opened last month, the area has been plagued by people drinking and taking drugs in the street.
In a bid to calm the situation, the Salvation Army is set to hold a meeting with neighbours today. The row comes as
it was revealed that the charity hopes to set up a new permanent drop-in centre in Niddry Street after the closure of its Bread Street centre earlier this year.
Leigh O'Neill, of Roxburgh Street, said the problems at the new drop-in centre had gradually increased since it opened.
She said: "It started off with maybe five or six of them using the centre in the first couple of weeks. Now there's up to 30 or 40 of them on the street outside.
"They're sitting there drinking, they're openly taking methadone."
Her husband, Andrew, said the couple were concerned for the safety of their children, Dana, ten, Caitlin, eight, Ria, seven and Aidan, four: "I can't even let my kids out, it's that bad. There's a nursery right next to it, an old people's home across the road, and sheltered housing nearby.
"More and more of these people have been coming into the area with their friends and their dogs and it's been getting more and more threatening."
A resident of the Pleasance, who didn't want to be named, said she was anxious about letting her two-year-old son play in the garden: "I know they've got to feed themselves, but they all congregate on the corner with their drinks and their hash."
However, not everyone is lobbying for the centre's closure. Practice manager of St Leonard's Medical Centre, Anne Ritchie said: "It's a handful of people, it's not all of the people who use the Salvation Army. It's probably three or four of them on the grassy area outside drinking.
"I know that one of our patients was pretty distressed when she saw one of them urinating, but they need a drop-in centre – I'd hate to see it closed. They just have to set some ground rules."
A Salvation Army spokesman said: "Some of the complaints made relate to people who aren't accessing our services, but we've increased monitoring from our divisional headquarters and our social work team are monitoring East Adam Street very closely in relationship with the police." A police spokesman said:
"Anyone caught engaging in antisocial or criminal activity can expect to be robustly dealt with."
The full article contains 444 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
