£5m temporary housing plan gets green light

A £5 million council plan to buy 60 houses to be used as temporary accommodation has been given the green light.

The scheme, which Shropshire Council says will reduce its reliance on unsuitable and costly B&Bs, won unanimous backing from councillors at a meeting on Thursday.

The properties will be spread across the county and will be made available to households presenting as homeless, giving them a secure place to live while they are supported to move on to a more permanent home.

The council had already agreed in July 2020 to spend £1.5m, which will come from money collected from housing developers through ‘section 106’ agreements, to secure more temporary accommodation through striking deals with housing associations and landlords.

However the updated plan sees the budget for the project upped to £5m, with the difference to be funded through borrowing, and will see the council buy the homes instead of renting.

Councillor Dean Carroll, cabinet member for housing, said: “This is a really positive report that’s promising a good programme of investment into supporting some of our most vulnerable people and providing the most appropriate accommodation for them when they need it the most.”

Councillor Carroll said the council was supporting more people than ever in temporary accommodation, following the Government’s ‘Everyone In’ scheme at the onset of the pandemic.

There are currently 135 Shropshire households in B&Bs.

Councillor Carroll said: “Bed and breakfasts are absolutely not the right place for us to be placing people and we need to work to reduce our use of them as much as possible.

“Sometimes there will be a need, especially out of hours and in urgent situations, but they should always be a last resort.”

The properties will be managed by Shropshire Towns and Rural (STAR) Housing, the council’s arms-length social housing provider.

Councillor Carroll said the majority would be one-bed houses and flats to reflect the fact that most homeless households in the county are single adults, but two- and three-bed homes will also be purchased for families.

It is hoped the programme will save the council around £1 million a year by reducing its heavy reliance on B&Bs, but Councillor Carroll said the “far more important” consideration was the improved quality of life for the people being housed.

Councillor Heather Kidd, who represents Chirbury and Worthen asked for the council to ensure some of the homes are provided in the county’s rural areas, to avoid people having to move away from their support networks.

Councillor Carroll said the council would consider all suitable properties located anywhere in the county.