Glasgow residents to pay to clean up 'increase in needles'

Glasgow Times

19-05-2025

In the letter, which was shared with the Glasgow Times, they state that 'following a review', they will now be charging for the 'clean-up of close areas and bin stores of drug paraphernalia'.
Email correspondence was also shared with us, where a factoring officer answered a direct question from the resident over whether there had been an increase in needles since The Thistle drug consumption room opened in January.
They replied: "Overall, for Calton and Bridgeton, I would certainly say yes —there are a few locations that Thenue deals with where there has been a significant increase."
Thenue Housing Association are based on London Road next to Tobago Street, where we reported last week that union bosses threatened to pull cleansing workers from the area over safety fears for staff tasked with cleaning up a drug den there.
Chris Mitchell, GMB convener, said an urgent risk assessment needs to be carried out in the area by the local authority, and action needs to be taken to secure the site as 'it's only a matter of time before they discover a dead body'.
READ MORE: GMB Union threatens to pull staff over Glasgow drug den safety fears
The concerned resident, who shared the letter with the Glasgow Times but wished to remain anonymous, said: 'Thenue sent out a letter saying they're going to start adding charges to our bill for picking up needles.
"I enquired a bit more and was told the number of needles had gone up a lot since January, which is when the centre opened.
Thenue Housing Association's offices at London Road's junction with Tobago Street (Image: Colin Mearns) "From what I can see, the number of addicts has definitely increased as Hunter Street adds to its services.
"There are a lot more addicts sitting outside Morrisons at the cash machine, but as long as they keep being polite, the staff and police are powerless to move them on.
"I'm worried about the new Gaelic primary school, which is set to open in the midst of it all.
"What if one of these new school children steps on a needle? Or is confronted by drug dealers hanging around outside school?"
A discarded syringe on waste ground on Tobago Street, Calton (Image: Colin Mearns) When approached for comment about the letter, a spokesperson for Thenue Housing said: 'We have recently written to all owners – not just those in Calton - whose properties we factor advising them of an increase in charges.
'This letter referred to such things as the clean-up of close areas and bin stores of drug paraphernalia, the cleaning-up of graffiti, bin replacements an additional rubbish uplift.
The factors went on to deny the increase since January to us, despite confirming it with the resident, they said: "This is based on long-term behaviours and not from any recent events.
Drug paraphernalia in wooden areas off Tobago Street (Image: Newsquest/Colin Mearns) 'With regard to claims of increased drug paraphernalia and needles and reckless discarding of such items, we do not specifically monitor this in the wider community, though we strongly condemn this behaviour and the risks it presents.
'The wellbeing and safety of our tenants, factored owners and our housing staff is incredibly important to Thenue, and we will always strive to ensure our communities are safe and well maintained.'
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We previously told how furious residents in Calton said the area has become a 'dumping ground' after the opening nearby of Glasgow's first drug consumption room.
Dozens gathered at a community meeting last week to call on First Minister John Swinney to take action, visit and 'admit there's a problem'. Their plea comes after The Thistle Centre opened on Hunter Street in January.
Glasgow residents to pay to clean up 'increase in needles' (Image: Colin Mearns) The controversial facility allows users to bring and take illegal substances, with officials hoping that providing a safe space, clean equipment, and medical supervision would lead to fewer drug-related deaths in the city.
Colin McGowan from charity Blameless brought a box along to the event at Saint Luke's, which contained 50 used needles he claimed he collected 'in one minute' on Tobago Street, just around the corner from Thenue's offices.
The anonymous resident added: "The people in Calton may not all be from privileged backgrounds, but they are decent, kind, intelligent, and hardworking.
"It is a very special community because so many of the locals were both born here and raised families here. Some of the families go back generations.
"They're a lot more streetwise than the policy makers running the project, that's for sure.
"They're not daft and they don't like being talked down to.'