Plan for Castleford base for vulnerable people draws objections

The town centre building has been empty since Poundstretcher closed in 2019

More than 100 people have objected to plans to convert a Castleford shop into a training centre with accommodation for vulnerable people.

A Wakefield-based charity is behind the project for the former Poundstretcher store on Carlton Street.

Objectors claim it is not in keeping with plans to regenerate the town centre, which are backed by £23m in government funding.

The store, which once featured in a television documentary, closed in 2019.

The charity, Giving Advice and Support to People in Emotional Distress (Gasped), offers support to people struggling with addictive behaviours, mental health, domestic abuse, unemployment and homelessness.

It wants to create training and educational facilities on the ground and first floors with temporary accommodation for up to 19 vulnerable people on the second.

Since the proposal was submitted to Wakefield Council there have been 140 objections, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Those include concerns about the appearance of the town centre, crime and anti-social behaviour.

"Creating more spaces to house the vulnerable will result in more businesses leaving the town," one wrote.

One supporter of the project said it would be an improvement given the building was an eyesore

Another objector urged the council to listen to people who live in the area, rather than those who view it as "a source of cheap property".

"Castleford and its people deserve better than this," they wrote.

One said they had initially favoured the development due to the facilities planned for the building.

"The second floor, however, makes my blood run cold," they added.

Five people have written in support of the project, including one who described the existing building as an eyesore.

The store building featured on the Channel 4 documentary Saving Poundstretcher in 2018.

It was stated in the programme the branch was taking £12,000 a week, only half of what it need to be profitable.

A date for the application to be considered by councillors has not been set.