We live in seaside town that rose to fame in hit TV show – now it’s overrun by drug addicts thanks to greedy landlords
IN its early 20th century heyday, Barry’s bustling docks were powering the Empire, exporting more than 11 million tonnes of coal around the globe.
Today the south Wales town is better-known for its seaside fairground and for providing the setting for the hit BBC TV comedy series Gavin and Stacey.
But Barry is also earning itself a reputation as a haven for druggies and teenage youths who are leaving locals too scared to leave their homes.
Residents say addicts are often holed up in 'halfway house' properties being snapped up by opportunistic landlords.
The town was identified as one of five neighbourhood crime hotspots in England and Wales this year in a report by the think tank Onward - which said that tackling antisocial behaviour was crucial for “left behind” areas.
The local economy is in ruins with businesses reporting a drop in footfall of up to 60 per cent.
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In the town’s Holton Road, business vacancies are up to 18 per cent, which means almost one in every five shops is closing down.
Many, including two once-thriving pubs, have been converted into accommodation for the homeless and those with drug addiction.
Addicts 'like zombies'
Businesswoman Shirley Lamb, who has run the Happy Baker with her husband, Alan, for 33 years, shakes her head as she recalls a recent encounter with one of the many junkies crammed into the emergency accommodation by the local authority.
“This guy was absolutely wasted, said Shirley, 64. “I think he’d been on skunk or something because he walked through my front door by mistake and fell face first on to my hallway floor.
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“He clearly thought he was in his own house.
“Me and Alan tried to pick him up but he was out cold. Eventually he got up and staggered home.
“There’s loads of them round here now because the council and private landlords are turning every property they can get their hands on into halfway house-type accommodation for these junkies.
“They wander round the streets like zombies - when they can be bothered to get off their backsides.”
Drug problem
Alan, also 64, echoes his wife’s thoughts. “They’re so zonked out most of the time, they haven’t a clue where they are.
“With most of them, it’s a mixture of weed, synthetic drugs like spice and prescription drugs like tamazepam. If they have one of those pills with a couple of cans of booze, they don’t know what’s going on.”
But despite the nuisance the druggies represent in this proud, working class community, father-of-four Alan often hands out free food from his bakery to them.
“I believe that if you treat people badly, they’ll treat you 20 times worse,” he said. “But if you show them a bit of respect and kindness, they’ll respond much more positively.
"So I give them a bap or a cake when they’re hungry and as a result I’m the only business around here that hasn’t had any trouble off them.
“I think it’s important to treat people nicely.”
Harassed by gangs
Further along Holton Road, music shop owner John Lewis sniffs the damp air blowing in and says: “Can you smell it? It’s weed.”
He says that most evenings the air is “so thick with the stuff you could cut it”.
Many of the locals are now too afraid to leave their homes - night or day - in case they are harassed by the druggies or the gangs of youths, many as young as 12, who rule the streets.
“You never see a cop patrolling so they are free to do whatever they want,” John, 70, said.
“We’ve got a real problem with the gangs of youths, especially, terrorising the local population.
“I often provide acoustic equipment for events in Barry and last summer we had a memorial service for the Queen in the gardens outside the town hall.
“We’d got a dozen or so wheelchairs lined up for guests near the entrance, but a huge gang of kids aged around 12 to 14 turned up and grabbed them, then careered around the gardens in them while we tried to mark the solemn occasion. It was totally disrespectful.
“Then, when the vicar tried to speak, the kids jumped on their bikes and tore around, making their brakes squeal loudly so no one could hear the words. They wrecked it for everyone.
“The problem is no one is holding them to account. They’re not being prosecuted because the authorities don’t want to criminalise them at such a young age, so they’re free to act with impunity.
“And then there’s the drugs. Most evenings, this part of town absolutely stinks of weed.
“It’s getting worse by the day. Many of my customers have stopped coming in - or indeed going anywhere - because they’re intimidated by the druggies and the youth gangs. So instead they stay indoors all the time.
“Consequently, footfall here has dropped by more than 40 per cent in the past couple of years. Yesterday, all we sold all day was two £8 packets of guitar strings. It’s a nightmare trying to run a business nowadays.”
Cost of living struggles
John, who has run JPL Sounds in Barry for the past 23 years, says the cost of living crisis has also bitten his business hard.
“People just don’t have any money nowadays because it’s all being spent on energy costs and being washed away by rampant inflation. People are having to be really, really careful.”
Ray Christo, 69, who has run his angling equipment store nearby for 11 years, says footfall at his premises has dropped even more than John's - down, he estimates, by 60 per cent compared to pre-pandemic levels.
He said: “The cost of living has hit people so hard many of them can’t even afford to go fishing any more.
“Shops are closing in this street every month. I’ve been here all my life and this is the worst crisis we’ve ever faced.
“No one’s got any money anymore. It’s dead round here.
“I’m retiring in a few weeks and handing over to my business partner. He’s a young man in his 30s and I just hope he can survive."
'I've never seen things so hopeless'
In the street, we spoke to retired builder Adrian Harris, 69, who blames the local authority and a lack of government investment for Barry’s problems.
“I’ve lived and worked in this area all my life and I’ve never seen things look so hopeless.
“There’s no jobs for young people and there’s crime everywhere.
“You walk down the street and the smell of weed knocks you out.
“The flats are full of druggies and there’s not a cop to be seen.
“People are living like animals, throwing all their rubbish into the back lanes and the council won’t clear it up, so it’s just sitting there attracting vermin.
“It used to be a wonderful place to live. We’re surrounded by the sea and we’ve got these beautiful sandy beaches and natural beauty, but the chaos caused by the druggies and the crime and poverty are making everyone lock their doors and stay indoors now.”
A recent study by non-political group Onward UK found that Barry ranks among the 10 per cent most deprived areas of Wales.
Its report, Levelling Up in Practice, praised “proactive neighbourhood policing” of antisocial behaviour and said economic policy in recent years had “harnessed the relationship between Barry and nearby Cardiff, boosting connectivity and the larger labour market”.
It added: “Barry’s regeneration efforts have been aided by the TV show Gavin and Stacey that boosted local tourism.
“But this upswing obscures some of the challenges faced by the town.”
These challenges, the report stated, include low productivity, concentrated deprivation and high street business vacancies.
Cllr Bronwen Brooks, Vale of Glamorgan Council Cabinet Member for Sustainable Places, said: “The evidence suggests Barry is far from being left behind economically.
“Shop vacancy rates remain below average for Wales and the UK, while in High Street, the town has one of the most vibrant independent shopping areas in Wales."
Cllr Brooks said that the council is "committed to securing Levelling Up money as we look forward to the next round of funding" and that it is "the council's role to help people who find themselves in housing difficulty".
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He added: “The temporary accommodation we provide, both directly and in partnership with private landlords, is well managed and issues are dealt with swiftly. People who use it are risk assessed while support is made available to those that are vulnerable.
“Most recent figures suggest crime in Barry is on the decline, with crimes recorded by the Police dropping by more than nine per cent in 2022, compared to the year before.”