26.06.20
Mid Sussex to spend £4.2m on temporary accommodation
Mid Sussex District Council has ringfenced £4.2m of their budget to fund temporary accommodation in the District.
It comes the same week as Central Government set aside an additional £1.5m on interim housing for rough sleepers.
With demand for social housing in the region very high, there is often a wait for a property, meaning temporary housing is needed in the short term to protect people from homelessness.
The demand for temporary accommodation in Mid Sussex increased by 80% between Jan 1 2019 and Jan 1 2020, which resulted in a Cabinet recommendation for investment into temporary housing in March 2020.
Since this recommendation, the coronavirus pandemic has fuelled the demand and made the need for accommodation more urgent.
The Council is proposing to purchase 10 units to help people from single households who are vulnerable and have complex needs.
Councillor Andrew MacNaughton, Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning said:
“By working to increase the amount of temporary accommodation available in Mid Sussex we can make a huge difference to the lives of local people who are at risk of homelessness.
“Currently, when all our temporary accommodation is full, we have no choice but to place people into guest houses located outside the District, often in Brighton and Crawley. Living outside the District exacerbates what is already a stressful time because it makes traveling to work, accessing healthcare, taking children to school or arranging childcare much harder.
“If we can provide more temporary accommodation in Mid Sussex we can help more people to remain close to their families and support networks, who can help them through this difficult time.”
The additional investment forms part of the Council’s Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy, which was adopted this week (June 24)
READ MORE: EXTRA £105M ON INTERIM HOUSING FOR ROUGH SLEEPERS
READ MORE: LONDON COUNCILS NEED 'BUDGET FREEDOM' TO TACKLE HOMELESSNESS
Councillor Jonathan Ash-Edwards, Leader of Mid Sussex District Council said:
“By taking control and purchasing our own temporary accommodation we can provide higher quality living spaces for our residents in locations that enable them to stay close to their local community.
“It’s a sound investment for taxpayers too because guest house accommodation is an expensive option. By investing this money in our own temporary accommodation, we will save over £240,000 each year.”