Homelessness in Blackpool double England average

Blackpool continues to deal with a homelessness issue well over twice the average in England, a new report has said.

Figures from Blackpool Council show applications from homeless people seeking help in 2024/25 are at nearly 18 per 100,000 people, compared to seven per 100,000 for England as a whole.

The town draws people from out-of-town due to its abundance of low cost rooms, as many small hotels and B&Bs have become houses of multiple occupation.

The end of a private rented sector tenancy is currently the leading cause of homelessness in England but in Blackpool that situation is doubled, with 58% citing this as the main reason in 2024/5 compared to the average in England of just 39%.

Because of the complex needs of many tenants, they sometimes lose their accommodation and present as homeless, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

A report for the council's Tourism, Economy and Communities Scrutiny Committee said:"This data shows that Blackpool is still dealing with significantly more pressure than national averages.

"Nationally homeless presentations are starting to stabilise and decline.

"Presentations are still rising in Blackpool, but this is slowing. Homeless prevention performance dropped in 23/24 due to the significant built-up pressure in this system but has improved by 6% in the last year.

"This shows a deliberate and conscious shift back to prevention and away from crisis, but remains incredibly challenging to maintain with emergency presentation increasing."

On 31 March 2025, Blackpool had 100 people in temporary accommodation, of which 40 were in a B&B, compared to 110 and 48 respectively at the end of March 22/23.

Blackpool has been awarded £2.86m in government funding to support work to prevent and reduce the harm associated with homelessness for the 2025/26 financial year.

The authority said nine people were likely to sleep rough on any one night, and there are usually about 16-20 different individuals found to be rough sleeping over the course of a month.

About half of those are new to Blackpool.

The council has made extra beds available, which can be accessed flexibly throughout the winter, and works are progressing on 25 new sheltered apartments due to open in the summer, a spokesman said.

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