Homelessness In Wales : Let's Chat About Barry Town, The Windsor and the Windsors

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Yesterday I had to go quickly to Barry Town to do a couple of things in the morning before in the afternoon seeing Spiderman Far From Home with daughter (for the record - not awful but not as good as Spiderman Homecoming which I chatted about in this blog a few years back).

Now whilst Barry Town is not the urban tragedy Bridgend Town currently is, it doesn't mean that it doesn't have blots on it's landscape. Notably two large disused buildings. Let's focus on the older disused of the two which I have chatted about before.

As I've said before the saddest disused buildings are those which seemed to have had fun when younger

Now look at the entrance to the building. That white thing by the front? It's a sleeping bag. That means somebody has slept there all night.

Homelessness used to be an issue for the city centres of Cardiff and Swansea. But as I've mentioned  in my last chat about Bridgend it's now moved into towns as well. Barry Town as this example showed is not immune from the issue. And it's likely to get worse. Indeed because no one knows the true final effects of Brexit the point is not whether it will get worse but how bad will it get?

Let's go into a bit of a detour. But trust me when I say there's method in my madness. You may remember that Welsh Secretary of State Alun "Chucky" Cairns changed the name of the Severn Bridge to the Prince of Wales bridge for no apparent reason other to kiss royal backside? Well this morning comes the news that it cost two hundred thousand pounds to change the roadsigns!!! I thought Conservatives were supposed to be saving money. But obviously not when it comes to royalty.

Alun Chucky Cairns in action folks.

But the point is this. Revolution begins when there is a period of perceived injustice. We have a situation of rising homelessness which two hundred thousand pounds could have helped deal with but instead has been spent toadying up to a rich family subsidised by the state. That is the scenario that causes resentment and social unrest.

But back to the specific Barry Town example of the homeless person sleeping in front of what was a hotel . May be sunny and warm at the moment. But that doesn't last. Soon it will be raining. Soon it will be autumn. Soon it will be winter. Soon it will be cold.

So what's to be done? Well perhaps the example of The Windsor should be the tenplate. It used to be a hotel why not open it up for the homeless? Even temporarily? I have of course no idea as to it's structural integrity but that building has been closed for at least two years and if looks are anything to go by it seems to be holding up well. So let's assume on that level it's viable.

Even if it was just a case of opening the doors so that the homeless had some protection from the elements and nothing else it would be a better situation than exists for them now. Though I'm sure charities would provide other help. Why can't the relevant authorities force whoever owns (and so far unable to sell) the property to let them have it until a buyer is found? Pop-up homeless shelters as you will.

And to those who would baulk at such a move I would say this. What would make you feel safer? The homeless in one place or scattered across the town?

It's not a solution. It's sticking plaster. But it's still better than leaving the open wound which is what's currently happening.

So Vale of Glamorgan Council (or whoever has control of this issue) why don't you stop your petty council squabbling and do something beneficial for the social fabric of the area instead? Perhaps then other councils could follow your example.

Until the next time.