A charity set up to help drug addicts kick the habit has said it is bitterly disappointed that concerned residents have threatened court action over plans to open a new half-way house.

President of Focus Counselling Service Rory Gorman said the organisation had not expected such fierce opposition to its plans to open a centre for recovering addicts in St. George's.

He spoke out after receiving another attorney's letter on behalf of the Committee of Concerned Residents (CCR), who live near to the proposed site in Barry Road.

The residents are concerned the supportive residency, which aims to enable recovered addicts to work, pay their way and integrate back into society, will lead to increased crime in the area.

A first attorney's letter was sent to Focus asking that their concerns be addressed by way of a public meeting, but then last week a second was sent.

Law firm Peniston & Associates said Focus had been silent since the first letter about two weeks prior, and therefore the residents wished a second letter to be sent as a formal objection to the proposal.

And the letter said that unless the residents' concerns were addressed, they would apply to the Supreme Court to seek "injunctive relief'' over alleged breaches of their rights of natural justice.

Copies of the letter have been sent to a number of MPs, as well as Premier Jennifer Smith, who is MP for St. George's North.

But Mr. Gorman said he was shocked to receive the letter in the middle of last week.

He said: "I did not expect this second letter when just the day before I had been talking to one of the committee members and was trying to engage the group in some sort of dialogue, but was rebuffed.

"I had wanted to discuss the whole issue with them, but was told they would not meet with us unless they had a lawyer present. But we feel that if a lawyer is brought in, it sets a certain tone.

"Introducing a lawyer and threatening to take it to Supreme Court is certainly a bit premature.

"We are unhappy about the way things have turned out. We are going to be considering what to do now.'' But concerned resident Gary Brangman said the second letter had already been written and sent out when Mr. Gorman called him to meet.

Mr. Brangman said he was polite but stated that the group members had been instructed by their attorney not to enter into dialogue without him being present.

He added: "I simply explained to him that that was how we had been instructed to act. We are paying money for an attorney for legal advice, so we will take it. We have been told not to talk to anyone without him being present.

"All we want is a public meeting and for Focus to address our concerns. We had not heard anything from Focus until he called last week.'' The residents have complained that since the centre was announced before Christmas, Focus had done nothing to discuss the issue with them.

They have demanded a general public meeting be held for their concerns to be raised.

They said a previous meeting held by Focus had not been properly publicised, and a second meeting had been arranged for just selected and invited residents.

However, Mr. Gorman said it was never the intention of the centre to leave people out in the cold.

He said the charity was concerned that a large, public meeting would not solve anything and would only lead to flared tempers, and people shouting at each other.

Mr. Gorman said Focus preferred to hold smaller meetings where people could really be listened to and heard, which is why they had invited the closest neighbours to meet first.

And he said even at that meeting Focus was subjected to "misguided abuse', which he wanted to avoid again.

He said there would not be an increase in crime, but that the centre would merely be a supportive residency where reformed addicts could get back on their feet and begin to integrate into society.

He added: "I don't know what the residents think we are running -- concentration camps or something.'' Last night Dr. Derrick Binns, chief executive officer of the National Drug Commission, said he could understand why residents would have concerns, but said he did not believe the centre would lead to increased crime.

He said: "We certainly support the idea of a supportive residency and we see this as a critical part of the continuum of care for the overall substance abuse treatment.

"I would not say an increase in crime is a strong potential. The people there will have already been through a treatment programme and will be through recovery. They will not need to commit crime because they will be working.

"I understand the neighbours' concerns and think wherever this occurs there will be some opposition, but we are committed to seeing a facility like this becoming a reality.'' Committed: Derrick Binns