Residents living near a property in Weston-super-Mare that previously housed four young male asylum seekers fear anti-social behaviour will return unless its future residents are properly supervised. The house on Gerard Road, North Somerset, was occupied from 2023 until earlier this year, when it suddenly became empty.
Neighbours say they endured a strong smell of cannabis, people and cars coming and going at all hours, young girls outside the property, late-night shouting, loud music, car horns and vehicles blocking driveways. Police vehicles were also seen outside on a couple of occasions.
Concerns over management and supervision
One woman living in the street became anxious about walking past the house after being subjected to aggressive sexual comments from men associated with it. She has two young children under seven. Within weeks of the property opening in 2023, she was subjected to loud and sexually abusive comments from a group of men, some of whom lived there. "I was alone and absolutely petrified," she said.
Curo, the housing association which ran the property, subsequently wrote to her saying it was taking the complaint "very seriously". In an email seen by the Daily Express, the housing association said it had spoken to the residents and "discussed appropriate behaviours, particularly in respect of women, and detailed what is, and what is not acceptable". It also said it would monitor CCTV for large groups congregating outside, gather information about visitors and work with local PCSOs.
Residents' experiences and assurances
Residents say they were told somebody would visit during the day, someone would be "on call" outside those hours and visitors would have to "sign in". They were also assured occupants would not have cars. But neighbours said numerous vehicles subsequently came and went, several occupants learned to drive and two cars were regularly parked on the drive or on the road outside. Several occupants were also seen riding mopeds and motorbikes associated with delivery companies.
Neighbours also complained about visitors regularly congregating outside, despite Curo saying that people would not be allowed to loiter outside. They claim email addresses originally provided for raising concerns later became inactive. One neighbour said that when they subsequently contacted Curo about problems at the property, they were told they would have to provide their date of birth before anything could be done about the complaint.
Property refurbishment and future occupancy
After months of building work, residents have now been told the house will be reoccupied, but they do not know by whom. They have appealed to the council and owner Affordable Accommodation (South West) Ltd to ensure it is properly managed. The company, whose director is Ciaran Taylor, bought the Gerard Road property for £390,000 in August 2022. The asylum accommodation project opened in 2023.
Cleaners visited the property once a week while the men were living there. Despite this, rubbish accumulated behind the property which residents say attracted rats. Since the men left, extensive refurbishment work has taken place. A tradesman working there told one of the neighbours the previous occupants had treated the house with "no respect" and that significant work was needed to bring it back up to standard. He claimed people had smoked inside, stubbed cigarettes out on flooring, spat inside and left stains around the property.
One neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: "Nobody wants to go back to how it was before. We have absolutely no issue with anybody living there because of their race, religion or where they come from. Our concern has always been about putting a group of young men together in a large house with very little supervision. We raised that concern before and were reassured it would be properly managed. Unfortunately, what happened afterwards was exactly what we were worried about."
North Somerset Council has since contacted at least one resident. In an email seen by the Daily Express, a council representative said it was "committed to ensuring that any future use of the property is appropriately managed". It added: "We recognise the importance of maintaining positive relationships with local residents and ensuring that neighbours have confidence that any accommodation is operated responsibly." The council also offered to discuss "the arrangements that will be in place moving forward".
The neighbour added: "We aren't trying to decide who should or shouldn't live on our street. We're asking that whoever lives there, the property is managed properly."
