CONSERVATIVE plans to increase the number of residential drug rehabilitation centres tenfold have been met with concern from Boscombe residents and civic leaders.

At the party conference at the Bournemouth International Centre yesterday, Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said that increasing the number of centres nationally to 20,000 would give drug addicts a choice between rehab and jail.

But residents and councillors campaigning against the many rehab centres already in existence in Boscombe believe the plans would create more problems and would be detrimental to local communities.

Debbie Utteridge, secretary of the Boscombe United Action Group, said: "More rehab centres is the not the way forward, especially if they are put in built-up areas alongside residents and businesses like here in Boscombe.

"Our experiences here have shown that they don't work and attract antisocial behaviour and drug dealers who come down from London looking for easy pickings. Property prices have fallen as a result, and hotels are closing because Boscombe is no longer seen as a tourist destination.

"There should be additional rehabilitation units built within the existing prison service, or new prisons built. Drug taking is a crime and if you break the law you should pay for this and not face the choice of rehab or prison. I know which soft option I'd go for."

Boscombe West councillor, Robert Copeland, agreed: "A well-run rehab centre will contribute to lowering crime and helping vulnerable people to get their lives back on track.

"But too often we see organisations which don't have the best interests of the people who need help or the communities where the centres are sited.

"A tenfold increase in rehab centres as proposed by Mr Davis makes for a good line in a conference speech, but I'm not convinced it represents a proper planned approach in consultation with social services and communities like Boscombe, who would have to pick up the pieces when things go wrong."

But Conservative parliamentary spokesman for South Dorset, Ed Matts, adamantly disagreed: "Rehab does work and I know this from personal experience because of someone I know.

"Increased centres will give people real choice."

First published: October 7