£1.8m homeless housing plan for young people in Herefordshire

Herefordshire Council is to use nearly £1 million from the Government to buy up at least ten properties to house young homeless people in the county.

The £910,000 Single Homelessness Accommodation Programme grant from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is specifically to house 18-25 year olds in danger of becoming homeless.

A further revenue grant of £478,615 will pay for support workers to help the young people manage their accommodation and finances, attend appointments and “become tenancy ready”, Herefordshire Council’s notice of the award said.

Caring for people vulnerable to homelessness, particularly those brought up in its care, is a statutory requirement on the council.

It says it knows of 101 young people who have either been put up in temporary accommodation or who were sleeping rough in Herefordshire over the past three years.

The properties have not yet been identified, but they “will be self-contained accommodation suitable for young people, disabled people and/or people with accessibility issues, subject to the market value”, the council said.

The funding must be spent by the end of March 2025. The council said it will also use so-called Section 106 developer money arising from an estate built at Lea near Ross-on-Wye for the purpose.

In total it expects to spend £1.81 million on the properties – £1.6 million to buy them and a further £150,000 to refurbish them, with a £60,000 contingency.

Consultation with opposition groups on the council found all supported the move.