Cornwall Council has said there is no evidence to suggest that anti-social behaviour in Camborne is linked to the residents at the pods for the homeless in Rosewarne car park.

The response came as a petition to get the pods removed from Rosewarne Car Park, claiming the occupants were the source of anti-social behaviour in the town, reached 285 signatures of a target of 500.

A spokesperson for Cornwall Council said the site is managed 24 hours per day 7 days per week and residents are risk assessed before moving into the accommodation and receive support with moving on from homelessness into long term homes.

They said they sign terms and conditions including acceptable behaviours both on the site and the wider area.

“Where evidence is available we will investigate any tenancy breaches and take appropriate action including eviction,” they said.

“There is a lot of work ongoing to tackle anti-social behaviour in Camborne through the Safer Cornwall partnership, including £340k of investment from the Safer Streets scheme.

They there is lots of information about what is being done at Safer Camborne and Redruth - Safer Cornwall.

“We encourage members of the public to report incidents of antisocial behaviour by visiting www.dc.police.uk where you can access the police’s online contact methods – WebChat and Crime Reporting Form.

Alternatively, you can call 101 (in an emergency always dial 999),” they said.

Further information about reporting community safety concerns can be found on the Safer Cornwall website Support & report - Safer Cornwall.

The petition on Change.org. was organised Samantha Hussey a resident of Camborne who said she is concerned about the safety of the town centre.

She said putting the pods for the homeless in the car park has significantly impacted the sense of security, discouraging people from visiting the town centre due to fear.

She is calling on the local council to remove the homeless pods from Rosewarne car park and consider alternative solutions like adequate housing facilities or established local shelters.

Many people responded to the petition with some saying they felt unsafe in entering the middle of town at any time of day with: “Drunks in the square by the fountain, drinking and doing and dealing drugs at all hours” and an increase in shoplifting.

The site was opened by Cornwall Council in 2021 to eliminate the need for short-term B&B or hotel accommodation to house those in urgent need of somewhere to stay.

The Camborne premises for 18 people followed the opening of a similar development at Lys Kernow (New County Hall) in Truro, which saw 21 self-contained cabin units installed.

The pods, which are leased from specialist company Bunkabin, offer residents a bed, desk space, a microwave, shower room and television without the fear of short-notice eviction.