Leading the way in temporary housing solutions

Local government leaders across the UK have been hearing how North Devon Council has been addressing an unprecedented need for temporary accommodation by increasing its housing stock rather than paying for B&Bs.

Around 20 per cent of homeless people have been placed in council properties, saving the council around £1,000 a night, it claims.

It has taken advantage of the government’s Local Authority Housing Fund which has brought around £1.5 million to help it buy properties, an amount it has matched.

The  council’s lead member for housing, Cllr Graham Bell (Lib Dem, Braunton East), has shared this experience with the Local Government Conference (LGA) last week in Harrogate.

He said: “North Devon is actually leading the conversation both through the North Devon and Torridge Housing Crisis Group and also through the work being done at NDC.

“Obviously we have low numbers compared to somewhere like Manchester, which has 3,300 [people] in temporary accommodation but to be able to house people in council properties – we now own 18 – has many advantages.

“It costs less in the long run than B&Bs and we can sort things out quicker and offer support. There is a lot of compassion involved from the housing team.

“We have, at the most, 80 families in temporary accommodation and it is horrendous for those families. It really can destroy people mentally and we are better able help them if we can house them in our own properties.”

The number of households in temporary accommodation countrywide is at its highest levels since records began.

The LGA says this comes with a human cost and significantly impacts councils’ finances. The percentage of councils’ housing budget spent on homelessness and temporary accommodation has more than tripled since 2015.

North Devon Council has previously described the increasing cost of housing people in temporary accommodation such as B&Bs as “a worrying trend”. Last year it earmarked £2 million for it.

It hopes to purchase more properties with further rounds of Local Authority Housing Fund.

It has also been able to house families displaced by conflict in the Homes for Ukraine scheme and the Afghan Resettlement Scheme, which prioritises people who have helped the UK in Afghanistan. Eighteen Afghan families are living in accommodation at Royal Marine barracks at Chivenor near Braunton.