Council plan to buy building for homeless housing

A plan to buy a large building to provide temporary accommodation for homeless people has been proposed by councillors at Worcester City Council.

The Policy and Resources Committee is set to meet on 24 March, and if the proposal is approved, the authority would purchase the building on Henwick Road from the University of Worcester.

Council leader Lynn Denham said the move would "save money" as the authority would no longer be paying "bed and breakfast bills".

She said: "Owning our own temporary accommodation gives us a better chance of housing people within Worcester, rather than having to find temporary placements for them outside of the city."

The council leader explained Worcester City Council had acquired more properties since 2019 to be used as temporary accommodation for families and individuals, who the council had a legal obligation to help.

She said the latest proposal would be "good news for people who are at risk of becoming homeless".

"It means we can guarantee the quality of the temporary accommodation that we place them in and make sure we comply with the national rule that no household with children is placed in bed and breakfast for more than six weeks," Denham said.

The report to the Policy and Resources Committee sets out how the Henwick Road building would be divided into 10 individual accommodation units, providing temporary homes for both single people and families with children.

If the committee backs the plan, the council would only go ahead with purchasing the building once planning permission has been secured for changing its use to temporary accommodation.

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