Youth Centre draws criticism from some

Press, 19 February 1986, Page 9

Youth Centre draws criticism from some

By

MARGARET BAKER

Some business owners in Worcester Street near the Christchurch Youth Centre, and the two other lessees of the old theatre building, are critical of the effect the centre has had on the area and on their businesses.

Mrs Colleen Murray, who runs a dance school on the third floor of the theatre, above the centre, complained to “The Press” yesterday after a stereo was stolen from her studio on Monday by young people. They were seen on the roof by someone in the Okinawa Te martial arts studio on the second floor, and the police were called.

The stereo was recovered on the Youth Centre premises. “I am trying to run a decent business catering for both young and old people, and I am just being . victimised,” Mrs Murray said. “People don’t want to come here because of the location, and my numbers are falling. The Youth Centre has become a drop-in place for the down and outs, and I don’t see why the ratepayers of Christchurch are putting up with it.”

The Christchurch City Council leases the building to the Youth Centre Trust for 10c a year, and has helped meet the costs of refurbishing it and paying staff wages. Mrs Murray said some of her pupils had been accosted and attacked by people on the street outside the centre, and the landing in the building was being used as a public convenience. One pupil had changed her shift work hours so that she could attend lessons during the day instead of having to enter the building at night.

“The trouble started when the centre opened. If I could find other premises I would shift,” Mrs Murray said. “I think it should be closed. It is just wasted space.”

The assistant district administration officer of the Ministry of Works, Mr J. Barr, said the problems the department had had with young people on the steps of the building had improved since the centre workers had visited him a few weeks ago and the police had increased security checks.

"Our concern is with the building and with security and access,” he said. “We have always

had vandalism and graffiti problems, and some of these increased with the opening of the Youth Centre, but since the workers visited us a few weeks ago things have got a lot better.” Mr Barr said a lot of young people slept on the steps during the night, and the department had installed floodlights on the steps facing Cathedral Square. “During the day we often had a lot of people loitering round the door and making access difficult, but the police have been clearing the area for us recently,” he said.

A worker at the coffee shop next door to the centre said she had never had any trouble from the people who used the centre, but a spokesman for another business said his company was considering shifting because the area was becoming undesirable. “Worcester Street started to decline with the bus stops, and it is not getting any better,” he said.

The other lessee in the Youth Centre building, the chief instructor of the Okinawa Te studio, Mr Mike Lee, said his pupil numbers had decreased

rapidly since the centre opened. Mr Lee has written to the City Council complaining about the situation, but said there had been no change and things were slowly deteriorating.

“It is ironic that what I am trying to teach in my classes is respect of other people’s property and consideration for .their welfare.”

A nearby real estate agency is also unhappy about the effect of the Youth Centre. The door to the agency was kicked in just before Christmas, and a spokesman said many clients were put off because of the location.

The managers of the Dog House burger bar, Ms Lesley Dick and Mr Dave Sloan, also said the amount of trouble they had with young people had increased since the Youth Centre opened. “It is not just five or six kids, it is 20 or 30, and they are becoming more revolutionary — the minute you try to enforce some kind of discipline or authority, they slam you as racist or prejudiced,” said Ms Dick. She said she had once used a fire hose to remove young people from the doorway of the shop.