The owner of the former Debenhams building in Harrogate has blocked off the entrance after business owners raised concerns about homeless people in the area.
In recent days workers have built and painted a wooden structure to block off any shelter at the building on Parliament Street.
It comes a couple of weeks after Lucy Gardiner, a local business owner, posted pictures of homeless people in the entrance on the Harrogate Residents Association Facebook group.
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Homeless people took shelter in the entrance. Photo: Lucy Gardiner
She told the Stray Ferret at the time:
“There is no shame in having standards and wanting the best for the town you love. This post was about awareness and having the conversation and wanting the best vision and future for Harrogate.
“I don’t have all the answers obviously but all I will say is that no-one can possibly walk past a homeless person sleeping in the street and think that this is okay.”
The Stray Ferret approached Harrogate Homeless Project for comment at the time but did not receive a reply.
Wetherby-based property firm Stirling Prescient, which owns the former Debenhams building, confirmed today it had “dealt with the issue” when approached by the Stray Ferret but declined to comment further.
Stirling Prescient has recently unveiled it plans to demolish the site, which closed in January, and replace it with a brand new building with apartments and space for businesses on the ground floor.
The application warned that if the site cannot be brought back into use the empty building could become an “eyesore” and “blight the high street”.
