A car park for a doctors’ surgery in west Reading has been fenced off over concerns about prostitution and trespassing in the area.
A concerned member of the public told the Local Democracy Reporting Service sex workers used the car park of Western Elms Surgery, located off Oxford Road, and the area was also affected by drug use.
As a result, 6ft tall fencing and four gates were added to the site.
The surgery’s planning consultants Integrated Building Consultancy Ltd argued the measures were needed to deter trespassers.
Advocating for the scheme, the consultants said: “There is ongoing issue with trespassing into the grounds and gardens of the surgery.
“There are already security gates immediately adjacent to the main entrance of the building, but the remainder of the site is enclosed only by low walls and hedging.
“The Practice is proposing to erect fencing around the boundary of the site. It has suffered for a number of years from trespassers both during the day and outside of normal working hours.
“It is clear from the debris left that some of the trespassers are drug users. It is completely unacceptable for sharps and other drug related paraphernalia to be left in a sensitive medical location such as this, where children and vulnerable people visit.”
The security measures were approved after the surgery applied for them in December 2021.
A spokesperson for the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust said: “The Surgery has been given planning permission to erect a fence around the car park to provide a secure place for patients and visitors to leave their vehicles when visiting the surgery
“As is usual practice, the car park is closed and locked when the surgery is not open and patients do not need to use it.”
The fencing plan can be viewed by searching for reference 212033 in the council’s planning portal.
