Lincoln’s St Peter’s Passage, used as a toilet and for taking drugs, likely to be closed by Lincolnshire County Council

A notorious passageway which was used for taking drugs and as a toilet is likely to stay closed.

St Peter’s Passage, which connects Lincoln High Street and Mint Lane, was gated in 2018 to deal with anti-social behaviour problems.

Residents say they used to feel unsafe walking down the dirty passageway, and nearly 90 percent of the 180 people who took part in a consultation on its future agreed that it should remain shut.

A county council committee will recommend next week that the Public Spaces Protection Order covering it is extended to prevent the problems coming back.

One resident who took part in the consultation said: “It is a shame that this has to be done, but on health grounds alone it needs to be done. I walked through in the past and never again.”

Another wrote: “It was truly awful before being blocked off and has been much better since.”

One person said: “It was always a smelly and dimly-lit area, often used as a urinal rather than a cut through.”

Others described it as being in a “shocking state of dirtiness” and suggested it should be bricked up.

However, others said the problems were caused by the lack of public toilets in the city centre.

“It is right that hidden places such as the passage should be closed to prevent fouling and other forms of nuisance, but there clearly is a need for those living on the streets to have access to appropriate toileting and hand washing facilities,” one resident wrote.

Another pointed out: “The passageway was used by disabled people to get from disabled bays [on Mint Lane] to the High Street – gating the passage stopped this.”

A council report says: “The city of Lincoln, much like other towns and cities nationally, saw an increase in on street anti-social behaviour, particularly associated with substance misuse.

“Prior to the gating of St Peter’s Passage some of these issues had manifested in the city centre particularly with the passage being used for crime and anti-social behaviour, including urination and defecation.

“The gating of St Peter’s Passage has removed the public health risk associated with behaviour and the associated crime and ASB.”

The Policy Scrutiny Committee will make a recommendation on Tuesday (January 14), which will go to the executive committee.