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Treatment Centre for addicts opens
By Nicola Porter - The Courier November 29 2000
A controversial treatment centre for alcoholics and drug addicts
has opened its doors in Neath town centre.
West Glamorgan Council for Alcohol and Drug Abuse is dealing will
calls for help form 300 people per week at its new abstinence centre
in Victoria Gardens.
But a year ago there were doubts over whether it would ever open.
Scores of people signed a petition in protest at the opening of
the centre when the Swansea-based council first applied for planning
permission to change the use of the former Conway Guest House.
Spokesman Debbie Brown, of Ena Avenue, summed up around 120 petitioner's
views at the time, saying the development should not be allowed
to open in the town centre when efforts were being made to clean
it up.
Norman Preddy, director of the Swansea-based council moved to reassure
the protesters.
And after months of wrangling, residents lost their battle to keep
the treatment centre out of town after councillors gave it the go-ahead.
The centre now officially opens on December 11th.
A lottery handout of £329,082 made the expansion of the Swansea-based
project to Neath possible
Deputy Director Ann Price said: "the demand for help at the
centre is already very high.
"As soon as we moved here we know we would need a larger centre.
"There was a real need for such a centre in Neath.
"It was unfair to ask people to travel to Swansea from Neath
and Port Talbot at a high cost."
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