Plans to turn care home into homeless accommodation

A former care home could be turned into accommodation for homeless people under plans for the first facility of its kind in the county.

Shropshire Council says its proposals for Coton Hill House in Berwick Road, Shrewsbury, will help reduce its reliance on costly and unsuitable B&Bs and enable vulnerable people to access the right support.

Neighbours who took part in a public consultation on the scheme had voiced concerns about anti-social behaviour and how the facility would be managed, but the authority says it took this feedback into account when finalising the plans.

If approval is granted, the 75-bed care home is to be reconfigured to provide 25 self-contained flats which will be offered to people registered with the authority as being homeless or at risk of homelessness.

Residents will receive training on managing their finances and have access to support from other agencies while living at the site for up to two years.

A management plan for the project says: “The new facilities will enable us to have quality accommodation, communal spaces for training and experienced support staff to facilitate the development of individuals who are homeless and need additional support.

“Whilst residents reside in the building, they will be given the best opportunity to address barriers to sustaining a successful independent life and develop skills that promote independent and healthy living within the community.

“Some residents will have suffered significant trauma in their past and our approach will be mindful of this and how we engage with these residents.

“Our approach will look to work with everyone holistically, taking a person-centred approach to each resident.”

The plans show how the care home building, which has been vacant since 2019, will be re-modelled internally to provide the self-contained units along with a training room and staff areas.

It will be managed by STAR Housing, the council’s arms-length social housing provider.

Access to the building will be via controlled doors, while six of the apartments will have their own private access doors. These units will be used as a “final step down” towards fully independent living away from the facility.

Staff will be on site around the clock, and there will also be CCTV covering the site.

The statement adds: “This is a pathway project offering each resident intensive support to deal with issues that may have contributed to them being homeless.

“Such a facility and intensive support does not currently exist in Shropshire and therefore, individuals who need this kind of intensive support and a place to call ‘home’ are not being helped in a way that will enable them to progress and sustain a tenancy.

“The new facility will form part of the community and as managers of the facility we recognise our obligations to the wider community to ensure that the residents integrate into the local area and do not cause anti-social behaviour.

“If there are incidents these will be taken seriously, and appropriate steps will be taken to resolve any nuisance caused.

“We are committed to working with the community and other partners to ensure successful outcomes for each resident.

“However, we also recognise that success is not guaranteed and if a resident is unwilling to abide by rules or do not cooperate with support staff, they will be asked to leave.”