Seaside town hit by 'anti-social epidemic' near emergency accommodation facility as locals' lives 'made a misery'

Residents and business owners in Scarborough living near an emergency accommodation facility in North Yorkshire are facing an “anti-social epidemic” and say their lives are being made a “misery” due to drug and alcohol abuse, fighting, swearing and public defecation at all hours.

Issues have been raised to GB News about The Lodge on Valley Road in Scarborough, which operates as an emergency accommodation facility, and the Wharncliffe Hotel, which overlooks Scarborough’s North Bay.

Homemore Ltd runs both hotels, along with the Redcliffe Hotel, and aims to regularise the use of The Lodge and the Redcliffe Hotel properties, which are currently being used as emergency accommodation.

The company delivers emergency temporary accommodation for adults, in partnership with local authorities and statutory services, before they move to more permanent housing.

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Brian Witty lives next door to The Lodge on Valley Road, which is the main road into Scarborough’s South Bay. He told GB News that the actions of some people being housed at the 36-bed hotel are making him “depressed” and says the issues have been going on for 18 months.

He shared videos he has taken of people outside The Lodge swearing and drinking, with a police presence visible.

“It’s making my life a complete misery - my cameras are going off all night with people mooching about drinking, taking drugs, alcohol and fighting,” he said.

“Police are here every day, an ambulance is here two or three times a day. It’s just not good enough. I can’t go into my back garden anymore and I’m not even allowed my grandchildren anymore because of the smell of cannabis and foul language.

“We used to sit out for breakfast, dinner and tea in the back garden - I’ve got a lovely garden and I’m not able to use it. It’s not right. It’s disrupting the whole street. My business is suffering, businesses further up the street are suffering.

“The majority of the residents here are well into their 60s. It’s the main road into town centre, and people are having to walk past this all day, every day.

“People being sick, drunk, totally out of their heads. It’s just not right. They shouldn’t be in a place like this. It’s a residential and holiday area for Scarborough. It shouldn’t be allowed.”

Linda also lives near The Lodge and witnessed up to 10 police cars and ambulances arriving outside the property per day.

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She told GB News that she had witnessed sex and defecation in the street, and that a woman burst into her home shouting about a machete.

Speaking about some people living in The Lodge, she said: “They’re having sex on the street, they’re pooing and peeing there, shouting abuse. I had a particularly bad incident where a lady came running into my house after trying to smash the glass door down at four in the morning, shouting ‘he’s got a machete, he’s going to kill me, he’s got a machete’.

“For 15 minutes we’re waiting for the police to come and I didn’t know if there was a man outside there with a machete. There are a lot of incidents happening. This is not suitable for putting people in with anti-social behaviour, especially a lot of them together, because it’s multiplying the problem.

“I’ve got holidaymakers who are horrified by what’s going on because they’ve seen it all, and I’m disappointed that a beautiful town like this, where people have worked all their lives, or retired here, or people are coming on holiday here for respite, and all this is happening as well.”

Tim Fawcett lives on Blenheim Terrace, near the Wharncliffe Hotel, which overlooks Scarborough’s North Bay. He moved there from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, 26 years ago, but says the area has declined since the hotel began to be used to house homeless people.

Speaking to GB News, he said: “It used to be a beautiful place, but now since this has happened, we’re getting all the druggies and the anti-social behaviour and everything’s just spoiling for everybody and causing havoc.

“It makes you uneasy because you can’t go past them because you get abuse and things like that. It’s scaring a lot of the residents and they don’t want to come out anymore.”

Another resident living near the Wharncliffe Hotel, who wanted to remain anonymous, told GB News: “There has been a marked increase in anti-social behaviour, drug dealing and drug/alcohol abuse in the local area since Homemore has run the Wharncliffe Hotel as a HMO.

“Vulnerable people are being housed in a four-star hotel with sea views - and the tragedy is the Wharncliffe Hotel is unequipped to meet their needs and we often see ambulances outside the premises.

“Longtime residents feel unsafe walking their dogs and people are afraid to sit on the benches and enjoy the sea views. Some residents are close to having a breakdown.”

Reform UK’s Thomas Murray, Mayor of Scarborough, has also experienced the same issues on the street.

He is part of a group of Scarborough Town councillors who are against Homemore’s applications for The Redcliffe Hotel and The Lodge in Scarborough to officially become mixed-use sites and said North Yorkshire Council should refuse the plans.

The Town Council held a meeting at the start of this month, where residents expressed their frustrations.

Scarborough Town Council’s planning committee voted against The Lodge application, with three votes against and one abstention, and against the Redcliffe with three against and one in favour.

North Yorkshire Council is expected to make a final decision on the proposals later this summer.

“The issue that we’re facing on the North Bay and in other parts of Scarborough at the moment is an epidemic of anti-social behaviour, which is being driven by these unsuitable buildings that are being used for emergency accommodation,” said Cllr Murray.

“These places are awash with drugs, so you’re putting people with addictions in there that need real help. I’ll leave work at 10 in the morning, I’ll come home and I’ve had to ring the ambulance because I’ve come home to people lying in the street that have overdosed or have drunk too much alcohol.

“I’ve had to ring an ambulance because people were lying in their own sick, for example, and a lot of residents are facing that at the moment.”

Councillor Tom Seston represents Scarborough’s Eastfield division and leads North Yorkshire Council’s Reform UK group. He said he had used the Freedom of Information Act to get figures for the number of police visits to Valley Road, where The Lodge is situated.

He found that in 2023, there were 162 police visits, while in 2024 there were 211, then in 2025, after he said The Lodge opened, there were 695 - an increase of 229 per cent in a year.

He told GB News: “We’re seeing a lot of these homeless hotels pop up around Scarborough in areas like The Lodge, The Redcliffe and The Wharncliffe, where there are large amounts of anti-social behaviour. There’s been large amounts of street drinking and we’ve seen drug use taking place.

“There’s been violence, there’s been a large police presence, the police being called regularly, and it’s just been absolute hell for residents.

“Scarborough is now built on tourism, and this, as you can see, is a perfect tourist area, but large numbers of homeless people in residential and tourist areas are not the answer. This 100 per cent is not the answer.

“We’re housing lots of people with lots of issues under one roof, congregating together too. Their negative behaviours are sort of feeding into each other, and it spirals and it escalates, and it’s what we’ll keep seeing unless the council act.”

Homemore has provided emergency accommodation in Scarborough since 2020, supporting vulnerable individuals and families experiencing homelessness, many of whom are in crisis or have complex needs.

The company is responsible for running Redcliffe Hotel, The Lodge and The Wharncliffe, the latter two of which residents have told GB News they have been experiencing issues at.

Homemore said it is concerned that some of the claims being made about its service are inaccurate, disproportionate or lack important context.

It said photographs and videos circulated online do not always show Homemore guests or Homemore sites, and people passing through the area have, in some cases, been wrongly linked to their accommodation.

In a statement, a Homemore spokesman said: “We recognise that residents and businesses have a right to raise concerns, and we do not dismiss genuine issues. At times, incidents of anti-social behaviour can occur in and around emergency accommodation settings. Where they do, they are taken seriously, logged, reviewed and escalated to the appropriate agencies where necessary.

“Referrals are made by North Yorkshire Council, and the vast majority of people referred are from Scarborough or have a local connection. Many of the people we support are vulnerable and may be experiencing crisis, trauma, poor health, family breakdown or the effects of domestic abuse.

“Our role is to provide safe, managed emergency accommodation to people who may otherwise be without somewhere suitable to stay.

“Homemore employs 27 trained staff members and is supported by subcontracted security provision during the evening. We also operate extensive CCTV across our sites, with 24-hour monitoring in place.

“Incidents, guest interactions and community-related concerns are recorded on our internal systems and reported to statutory agencies where appropriate.

“Emergency service attendance at our sites should not automatically be taken as evidence of service failure or criminal activity.

“Police may attend for welfare checks, curfew checks, witness statements or meetings with staff, and ambulance attendance may be required due to the complex physical and mental health needs of some people experiencing homelessness.

“Where incidents do occur, our staff, CCTV, security arrangements and relationships with police, the council and other statutory services help us manage risk and reduce wider community impact.

“We have never refused to engage with neighbours. Homemore has taken part in three public town hall meetings and has also worked with professional mediation services to support constructive dialogue.

“We remain willing to engage through appropriate and constructive channels.

“Homelessness is a complex social issue. People can fall into crisis through bereavement, trauma, poor health, family breakdown, domestic abuse or other circumstances beyond their control.

“We are proud of the work our staff do every day to support some of the most vulnerable people in our community.

“We will continue to work constructively with North Yorkshire Police, North Yorkshire Council, local partners and the wider community to provide a safe, accountable and well-managed service.

“Harassment, abuse or intimidation of our staff is unacceptable in any circumstances and will continue to be reported to the police.”

North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for corporate services Cllr Heather Phillips, whose responsibilities include community safety, said that the safety and wellbeing of residents is the council’s priority, and it always looks to address concerns about anti-social behaviour when they are reported.

She added: “We tackle anti-social behaviour through a combination of prevention, early intervention and enforcement, often working closely with North Yorkshire Police and other partner agencies.

“This includes regular visits to affected areas, gathering information and engaging directly with local communities.

“We would encourage anyone experiencing or concerned about anti-social behaviour to report it via North Yorkshire Police’s website or by calling the non-emergency number 101.

“In an emergency, or if a crime is taking place, always call 999.”

Alison Hume is the Labour MP for Scarborough and Whitby. She has met residents and vulnerable temporary visitors, personally visited both the Redcliffe and Wharncliffe hotels, spoken with North Yorkshire Police and raised these concerns with the Deputy Mayor.

She told GB News: “The message is clear - Scarborough is carrying too much of North Yorkshire’s emergency accommodation burden.

“Our town has always stepped up to help people in need, but North Yorkshire Council must now review its reliance on clustering placements here.

“I want to thank our emergency services for their work responding to incidents when they arise. I’ve made sure residents’ voices have been heard. Now they need to see action.

“While North Yorkshire Council reconsiders its policy, Homemore should provide 24-hour security to give local people the reassurance they deserve and I’ve requested a visit to meet them again, this time at The Lodge.”

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said that the force remains committed to working closely with local communities and partner agencies to address concerns and help keep people safe.

They added: “We encourage anyone experiencing crime or anti-social behaviour to report it to us so that we can assess the circumstances and take appropriate action where necessary.

“Reports can be made via the North Yorkshire Police website, through our Live Chat service, or by calling 101.”

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