Former student homes bought by council for the city’s homeless

FURTHER DEALS IN THE PIPELINE TO HELP HOUSE THE VULNERABLE

If we can purchase more suitable temporary accommodation we will be able to reduce our overall costs further Cllr David Welsh

FORMER student homes have been bought by Coventry City Council to house the homeless.

Deals were struck for five private-rented properties in the past few weeks and it is hoped they will be in use by the new year, the authority said.

A five-bed home, three threebed homes, and one six-bed home outside the city centre form part of the scheme.

The council is also in discussions with Coventry University to buy two purpose-built student accommodation blocks - a 26-bed property and a 16-bed property.

Both deals are still ongoing and dependent upon planning permission and legal agreements, the council said.

A further six-bed private residential property is also on the council’s radar.

They make up 68 of around 100 beds the city council said it aims to purchase as temporary accommodation for homeless people in the city.

The council has previously used costly hotels and B&BS as a form of temporary accommodation which has seen their housing and homelessness service drum up continuously large overspends - £3.4million last year.

A string of initiatives to reduce the long-term cost have accelerated this year, including the full use of tower block Caradoc Hall to provide 102 flats, and the opening of the former Frank Walsh House in April to provide 44 support accommodation flats.

Cabinet member for communities and housing Cllr David Welsh: “If we can purchase more suitable temporary accommodation we will be able to reduce our overall costs further.

“That’s why we are working on a variety of schemes - including obtaining homes which were previously student accommodation.

“We are already working with other agencies as some of these schemes will be supported accommodation so that people can get the right support to keep them in their tenancy.”