Further closure of city centre passage recommended

The closure of a city centre passageway may be extended after it was first gated in 2019 to deal with anti-social behaviour.

St Peter's Passage, which connects Mint Lane with the High Street in Lincoln, was said to have previously been used for drug use and as a toilet.

The City of Lincoln Council (COLC) launched a consultation last year on whether the gating of the passage should remain in place.

Out of 180 people who filled in the survey, nearly 90 per cent said that the passage should remain shut.

A Policy Scrutiny Committee will make a recommendation on 14 January to renew the Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) for three years which will then go to the Executive Committee.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, one resident from the survey said it was "truly awful" before being blocked off and "has been much better since".

Another described it as a "smelly and dimly-lit area, often used as a urinal other than a cut through".

Others cited a lack of public toilets in the city centre causing the problems, with one resident stating the passage was previously used by disabled people to get from disabled bays on Mint Lane to the High Street.

A COLC report, which will go before the Policy Scrutiny Committee, states: "The city of Lincoln, much like other towns and cities nationally, saw an increase in on street anti-social behaviour, particularly associated with substance misuse.

"Prior to the gating of St Peter's Passage some of these issues had manifested in the city centre particularly with the passage being used for crime and anti-social behaviour, including urination and defecation.

"The gating of St Peter's Passage has removed the public health risk associated with behaviour and the associated crime and ASB."

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