This weekend two extra armrests were drilled onto an Oxford bench on Woodstock road to stop people from lying down.
A photo of the bench, located inside a bus shelter, was uploaded to Twitter on Monday showing two new metal bars. The person who installed them is unknown and did so against Oxford City Council wishes. The bars have since been removed by the council.
The action has been branded as ‘hostile architecture’, a design strategy which aims to restrict behaviour in public spaces to boycott ‘antisocial’ behaviour such rough sleeping.
A number of individuals spoke to the Oxford Mail about their feelings on the issue, including members of Oxford’s homeless community.
James Ellam, a 41-year old living on the streets, said: “It’s tough – you get moved on all the time. Police give you a hard time, everybody gives you a hard time. They put things in front of doorways so you can’t get some shelter.”
Sam King, who has been living in sheltered accommodation run by the city council, commented:
He said: “I think people can help us just by being nice. Not by doing things to benches.”
“When you get trench foot you have to sit down or lie down because you need to rest, but when you do you get told off for sitting down on the pavement and people think you’re begging.
“Sometimes you are begging, but not all the time.”
He also said: “Begging is a life skill for homeless people – it’s needed for survival.
“I feel really bad about doing it – I hate asking people for money and I always say sorry when I ask.”
28-year-old Jason Dart,who has been sleeping rough in and around Oxford for nearly ten years, said: “What happens if an old man needed to put his feet up or somebody with mental illness needed to rest – it might not be a homeless person using that bench.”
He added: “I sleep in the covered market ally bit – they move me on at about 7am, they’re really nice about it every day. Then I go and sleep on the gap doorway until about 9am – after that I just try and find places to be.”
Oxford City councillor Shaista Aziz said: “It’s quite an aggressive approach.
“You can’t have a city like ours that wants to move forward with homelessness and then do this – we are supposed to be making progress.
“It’s really easy to demonise homeless people but they actually feel ashamed – and it’s exhausting to be homeless – you can see it just by looking at them.
“Hostile architecture is unwelcoming. Public spaces are for everyone – whether they have a home or not, and whether they are rich or poor. What this is saying is that public spaces are being limited for certain people.”
Ms Aziz shared the image on Twitter, writing: “I’m against all types of hostile architecture making it harder for people who are homeless to rest and take shelter from the rain and freezing cold.”
Linda Smith, deputy leader and cabinet member for leisure and housing at the council, said in a statement:
“These arm rests were not installed by Oxford City Council or Oxford Direct Services and we are removing them today.
Arm rests on benches are part of inclusive design as they provide extra help for older people and people with mobility issues, making it easier for them to sit and stand up again. This bench already has three arm rests.
We believe that nobody should have to sleep rough in Oxford and we’re doing more than ever before to tackle the national homelessness crisis.”
The council has recently opened a new £1.9m homeless shelter on Floyds Row off St Aldates.
