Rough Sleeping
Report
If you are concerned about someone sleeping rough in our area, you can let us know through Street Link, a national website which sends alerts through to us with the location of the person. We can then engage with them through our outreach services.
Outreach
Our outreach service will make contact with rough sleepers and help them access housing and support services. Through this service, a rough sleeper can access washing facilities, laundry, lockers, food, clothing and practical support. This service is voluntary, and the rough sleepers don’t have to engage.
Homelessness
The Council’s housing options service will take a person through the statutory homelessness process, providing temporary accommodation if they are eligible*, putting them in touch with additional support, and help to access settled accommodation.
*Not everybody can access homelessness services and temporary accommodation. If a person is not from the area, they can be assisted back to their home Local Authority to access housing services there. Sometimes a person has already accessed as much help as they can through this service.
Moving people on
At most locations there are limited powers to be able to move someone away from their location.
If the person is not engaging in any criminal activity, the Police have little power to take any action. Criminal activity can include being aggressive or acting in an anti-social way. If someone is begging, the Police can intervene and move that person on and if they continue, civil orders can be used.
If someone is sleeping where they shouldn’t, this is generally a matter for the landowner. The landowner may decide to take action through the Court for trespass, but they don’t have to. This can take time and is only relevant to a specific person at a specific location. If the person or the location changes, the process would need to start over.
Parts of Aberystwyth, Lampeter and Cardigan town centres have restrictions on public drinking through designated Public Space Protection Orders. These powers help the Police deal with the problems of nuisance, annoyance or disorder associated with the consumption of alcohol in those areas. Enforcement is a discretionary power used to tackle anti-social drinking, and it is an offence to fail to comply with a request made by the Police to cease drinking or surrender alcohol. More information, including maps of each area covered, can be found here.’
Littering and waste
If waste is left behind when someone moves on, this could be considered fly-tipping. The Council can remove all types of waste left on Council land such as highways/ pavements and around public buildings. If the land is privately owned, this is a responsibility for the land-owner. Reports can be made through Clic for investigation.
If the rough sleeper is still using the location, our outreach services will encourage them to keep the area tidy.