‘Hell of homelessness accommodation’ at Queen's Park Hotel

At a public meeting, community members described the stress caused by the Queen's Park Hotel as well as their fears for the people living in the building.

Locals told of being harassed and threatened by residents of the hotel as well as drug paraphernalia littering the street, vandalism, anti-social behaviour, rubbish and theft.

They also criticised Glasgow City Council for using the private bed and breakfast as temporary accommodation, saying guests are not provided with appropriate facilities or adequate staffing.

One woman, placed in the hotel on June 9 by the council after presenting as homeless, said she had still not been allocated a case worker.

New legislation determines that "unsuitable accommodation" such as B&Bs should be used for a maximum of seven days - but the woman, who did not want to be named, said she had no idea when she would be moved.

She told the meeting, organised by Shawlands and Strathbungo Community Council, she was offered no support.

She said: "I keep being told tomorrow but tomorrow never comes.

"We don't have access to cooking facilities. We get the change of a bath towel once a week.

"They've taken away the evening meal from us.

READ MORE: Residents call for an end to notorious Southside hotel

"Don't get me wrong, I am grateful for the accommodation but I feel like you're just put somewhere and left and forgotten about, just put there in the clothes you're standing in and nothing else.

"While the council is paying for these hotels there are plenty of houses sitting empty - why not use those?"

A Freedom of Information request showed one guest had stayed for 484 consecutive days in the hotel.

From September 30 last year to May 15 this year there were 221 occasions when people stayed at the Queens Park Hotel for more than seven days, in contravention of Scottish housing law.

Another resident told the meeting: "I've been in every homelessness hotel in the city and there's nothing, no help.

"You are just treated as a number. There is no support.

"There is drug use and all sorts of things happening. It is the worst now that it has ever been."

Issues with the Queen's Park Hotel have been ongoing for at least 15 years with the Glasgow Times telling back in 2007 about similar problems with crime and anti-social behaviour alongside sub-standard living accommodation.

The Balvicar Street building was owned by businessman Alistair McKever but neighbours had hopes of a transformation when his firm went bust in 2009 and new owners took over.

However, the situation has steadily worsened.

It is now owned by Harhill Limited, registered to Mohammad Ikram Hussain. The firm did not respond to requests for comment.

The public meeting was attended by Shawlands and Strathbungo Community Council, Living Rent, charity the Simon Community, local residents and the Niddrie Square Residents Association, all of whom spoke out about issues with the hotel.

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Management of the hotel was invited to the meeting but did not attend.

B&B accommodation is not regulated by Glasgow City Council or the Care Inspectorate and locals at the meeting called for the council to investigate living standards in the hotel.

Asked if an inquiry would be held, a council spokeswoman said: "As advised at the meeting on Wednesday night the council will continue its engagement with Community Council members as we develop and deliver our Temporary Accommodation Strategy.

"We are currently taking forward a number of investments to continue to improve the support and facilities available to residents of the hotel. We are currently working with the owners of the hotel to take forward a programme of works.

"We are currently reviewing how we work with owners of establishments to ensure that accommodation meets acceptable standards."

Several residents spoke out about how their lives were affected by living near the hotel, with one man saying he had been threatened by a resident and speaking about men urinating in the lane running alongside the hotel and groups drinking on the steps outside his flat.

Another woman said that, after 30 years living in the neighbouring building, she was now moving for the sake of her mental health.

She said: "I'm now not sleeping at night due to the noises coming out of the hotel and people crying for help at 2am and 3am.

"I get emotional about it and it's affecting my health now so I'm moving out.

"But it's disgusting what's going on there. Even if I go out at night to put my bins out, the abuse I get on a daily basis.

"I don't get sleeping because of the hotel - the screaming, bawling and shouting.

"People don't understand what we're going through with that building. It is torture." 

Concerns were raised for the residents of the hotel also with Jamie Sweet, director of The Point at Queen's Park Baptist Church, saying: "We are concerned about For the proper care of the clientele of the hotel.

"It needs to be better.

"It's hard for them in the hotel and we can back up their testimonies - they are are not allowed to speak to anyone else or go into anyone's rooms; they have a microwave and that's about it.

READ MORE: Police investigate death in Queen's Park Hotel

"We're experiencing the same sort of difficulties that other residents are too.

"We just found sharps and spoons outside the back of the church just this morning.

"We tolerate that but the living conditions there should not be tolerated."

Inspector Cennydd Smith of community policing in the Gorbals said he would personally be a point of contact for concerned locals.

He said that it was vital residents reported issues to the police in order for him to allocate enough resources.

Cennydd said: "I have listened to all the stories tonight and I have read all the emails sent to me and the incident data does not tie in with that.

"That's not to say that what's happening isn't happening, it's that it's not getting back to us.

"You have all spoken about vulnerable people staying as guests of the hotel but what we don't want to do is criminalise vulnerable people.

"If somebody is drinking a bottle of vodka in the street, us giving them a £60 fine is not going to help them.

"For low level anti-social behaviour it is important we do not criminalise people."

Glasgow City Council pays £350 per week to house a person in the Queen's Park Hotel, which has 58 rooms that can generate more than one million pounds per year for its owners.

Iain MacInnes of the Scottish Tennants Association (STA) said the issues were Scotland and Glasgow-wide with the group calling for a public inquiry.

He said: "If the council is going to treat people like rubbish then we shouldn't be surprised that they treat the environment around them like rubbish.

"The council is not doing it's job from a care point of view in any dimension whatsoever.

"This seems to be like the workhouse but without the work. It's not just a disgrace, it's a continuing scandal."

Sean Clerkin, also of the STA added: "We are here to talk up for people who are in temporary accommodation because we have helped them over the past few years.

"The fact of the matter is that Glasgow City Council essentially because we are going through this cost of living crisis there are a lot more people living in temporary accommodation - there are currently 6352 people - a rise of 10%.

"All these private owners are coining it in. Think what they could do with the money being spent - they could build proper homes, decent accommodation.

"The people in the Queen's Park and other hotels are using shared toilets and shared washing facilities.

"These people are being treated as though they are nothing and worth nothing.

"Nine homeless people have now died in the city - five men and four women. When is this going to stop? There must be a public enquiry."