Residents fighting for more say over plans to open a halfway house for recovering drug addicts near their homes have hired an attorney to help them with their case.

The neighbours living around Barry Road in St. George's are demanding a general public meeting be held by Focus Counselling Service, where they can ask questions and voice concerns.

A member of the group, which has called itself the Committee of Concerned Residents (CCR), Gary Brangman, said he did not believe Focus was being malicious, but said attempts to hold two meetings in recent months had failed to include many residents.

The first meeting in December was badly publicised, which resulted in no one turning out.

And the second one, on February 21, was held for just 54 invited residents.

But Mr. Brangman said more than 200 people had signed a petition against the $1.5 million development, and therefore should be given an opportunity to learn more.

Among their concerns are the possibility of an increase in crime once the centre opens, and an increase in traffic. However, their overriding concern is the lack of information.

Mr. Brangman, of nearby Salt Spray Lane, St. George's, said residents were upset about the plans because they had not been consulted, and he said they feared it would house about 25 recovering addicts.

He said: "I gate crashed the meeting on February 21, and that was fine, nobody excluded me, and, to be honest I think they are trying to be reasonable.

"But we need a general public meeting where anybody who wishes to attend can do so.

"We need more information about what is intended at the facility and we want to know how many people are going to be sent there.

"We don't want a big centre like this in this area. It needs to be somewhere where it can be better policed, such as Prospect.

"If Focus was talking about a family-sized centre, with residents in the single digits, we might be prepared to work with them.'' Law firm Peniston and Associates wrote to Focus at the end of last week voicing the concerns of the residents.

President of Focus Rory Gorman last night said he had not seen the letter, but assured residents their appeal for a public meeting would be taken into consideration.

And he said it had never been the intention of the charity to leave people out in the cold.

He said: "The first meeting we organised, miscommunication was the problem.

The second time we thought we were being considerate by only inviting those people along who were in the immediate vicinity. We asked someone to compile a list for us. "We thought we would start with a smaller meeting first, then invite others later.

"We wanted something where we could truly hear and be heard. There was no malice intended.

Residents concerned over halfway house "But even with the last meeting there were lots of conversations going on and it was difficult to chair it.'' Mr. Gorman stressed that the halfway house would not be a rehab centre, and said the people living there would be well past that stage.

Instead, he called it a supported residency.

He said Focus was in the throes of discussing numbers and fine details, but he said an estimate was that it would house between 20 and 24 men.

Focus has already bought the building and land from Cable and Wireless and is hoping to open the 90-day treatment programme centre sometime next year.

It's aim is to house men who have already successfully completed Focus's drug rehab programme, and assist them in getting back into society. To stay at the centre they must pay rent and expenses, work, and stay drug-free.

Last night, Senator Kim Swan urged Focus and Government to listen to the residents to open dialogue.

And while he said Focus should be commended for the work it does, he said residents should be consulted at all times.

But he also voiced concerns over the apparent lack of involvement of the four St. George's MPs in the issue.

He said: "My concern is that these type of programmes impact significantly on the lives of residents and it is incumbent on Government and organisations to be transparent and talk to residents. The residents have not received support from any of the MPs.

"There should be no cherry picking people to attend meetings. They should be open for everyone to attend.

"I encourage them to open dialogue.''