A council has sparked anger with their plan to tackle anti-social behaviour – by demolishing a picturesque pavilion where teenagers hang out.
The local authority in Lyme Regis, Dorset, has taken the extraordinary decision to bulldoze the beloved coastal landmark.
The scenic pavilion was built in 2005 as a place for townspeople and tourists alike to sit and take in the magnificent views of the famous Cobb harbour and the Jurassic Coast.
But in recent years it has attracted homeless people seeking shelter as well as bored teenagers with nowhere else to go.
This has led to complaints of anti-social behaviour including drinking and drug taking.
A council has sparked anger with their plan to tackle anti-social behaviour – by demolishing a picturesque pavilion where teenagers hang out
The local authority in Lyme Regis, Dorset, has taken the extraordinary decision to bulldoze the beloved coastal landmark
The town council subsequently removed the windows of the building in the hope of making it inhospitable for them.
When that didn’t work they voted through the motion to get rid of the pavilion entirely.
Furious locals say it will only move the teenagers on to somewhere else and fear the council will end up playing ‘whac-a-mole’ with other public buildings.
One local resident said: ‘Let’s hope they don’t end up hanging outside the town hall otherwise they will have to demolish that by their logic.
‘Destroying public buildings that are well loved and well used simply because they attract the wrong sort of people is not the answer. It is tantamount to vandalism.
‘The council should focus on putting time and resources into solving the cause of anti-social behavior.’
A petition has been launched in a last-ditch bid to stop the demolition which is expected to happen over the next few weeks.
Members of the community have also offered to paint and repair the pavilion free of charge to try and convince Lyme Regis Town Council that it is worth keeping.
Janette Edmonds, who has organised the online petition, said: ‘This decision has left our community devastated.
‘Not only does it rob us of a treasured piece of our town’s character, but it also threatens tourism – an essential component of our local economy.
‘The council thinks that if it is no longer there the anti-social behavior will stop but playing whac-a-mole with local landmarks like this is not the answer.
‘Removing the pavilion will just move the problem elsewhere.
‘This is a lovely building and the outcry from people in the town is huge.’
Local resident Kate Burgess said: ‘How does destroying the location help? If the problem relocates to the other shelters, are they going to remove those too?’
Mark Turner added: ‘If bored teenagers are hanging out in the pavilion and it is because they have nowhere to go like a youth club.
The scenic pavilion was built in 2005 as a place for townspeople and tourists alike to sit and take in the magnificent views of the famous Cobb harbour and the Jurassic Coast
‘The council should focus on giving the teenagers somewhere to go rather than destroy a public building. Knocking it down is not the answer.’
But Brian Larcombe, chairman of the town council’s town management committee, said they didn’t have the resources to tackle homelessness or anti-social behaviour and the pavilion was not important enough to keep.
He said: ‘The gazebo was constructed during the mid-2000s and is not a heritage asset.
‘Lyme Regis Town Council, like other small towns of parish status, don’t have the means or necessary experience to resolve homelessness.
‘The gazebo is not a temporary or permanent solution to any homelessness case.
‘The council is aware of the disgusting state the gazebo suffers with drunkenness and signs of drug taking, and the urinating and defecation in public, at times during the day, when our public toilets are open. It is completely unacceptable and inexcusable.
‘The police have been unable to deal with this over the last few years.
‘We are therefore simply removing the structure but leaving the benches it contains in position, so the seating remains.’
Since the backlash the council has agreed to debate the issue again and a council meeting at the end of the month.