Our town has been ruined by drunks and people smoking cannabis… it’s gone downhill rapidly
RESIDENTS say their town has been ruined by drunks and people smoking cannabis – and that it’s gone downhill and rapidly.
Locals in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire slammed their town centre as a “dosshole”, with a £1million facelift for the local train station doing little to change the area.
The town has lost several shops and pubs including its Wetherspoon, as well as its McDonald’s branch and its Mecca bingo hall.
Now residents say the town centre has been ruined by drunks and and the pervasive smell of cannabis.
Matthew, 43, told YorkshireLive: “It’s a bit grim. People tapping and drunks bothering people.
“And cannabis raids. It stinks and turns my stomach.”
Chris Butterworth, 60, added that the closure of his favourite local pubs and shops had left him “depressed”.
He said: “It has gone downhill rapidly.”
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Jo, 49, said: ” It is run down and the shops are closed, with undesirable people.
“I would not walk through Dewsbury after dark. I would be too scared.”
Elizabeth Cleal, 21, said: “It’s dead. I don’t spend much time here because shops are shutting.”
Her mum Sarah Jones, 42, said: “It’s like a dead town. All the shops are shutting.”
Although Dewsbury recently saw its Pioneer House undergo a £14million restoration, residents say far more investment is needed.
Many locals now prefer to do their shopping and socialising in nearby Leeds or Wakefield.
Dewsbury Community Outreach offers free hot meals on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays to the increasing number of locals in need.
Plans to improve Dewsbury Market gave some residents hope for the future – but the project has now been “re-evaluated” by Kirklees Council because of rising costs.
It comes after residents in a once-thriving shopping hot spot said it is now a “ghost town” full of boarded-up shops.