Council strikes a deal on Social Bite plan
South Lanarkshire Council agreed last week to enter into a partnership that will develop a 15-unit‘homeless village’in Rutherglen.
Councillors on the housing and technical resources committee welcomed plans for the local authority to join with Social Bite to develop an innovative approach to meet the accommodation needs of single homeless households.
Now approved, a site with 15 units of accommodation will be developed at Harriet Street in Rutherglen.
Chair of the housing and technical resources committee, Davie McLachlan, said:“I’m delighted to move this recommendation, I’ve been to visit the site and the units and I’m really looking forward to seeing the positive outcome and how it’s going to make a difference to homeless people.”
Councillor Andrea Cowan , pictured, (Rutherglen Central and North), said:“I really just want to welcome this report, I think it’s really exciting. Harriet Street is in my ward, and up until now I’d probably say unfortunately because it’s an eyesore, it’s an industrial piece of spare ground, so I’m absolutely delighted this is going to be put to great use.”
Social Bite approached the council as a charity organisation who were able to fund the proposal of a homeless village, and they provide modular housing in line with similar models across the country.
The proposal is based on a model which has operated successfully in Edinburgh since 2017, whereby Social Bite provide temporary accommodation for homeless people through an innovative partnership with the city council.
Plans for South Lanarkshire will see the development of 15 units on council-owned land which will be leased to Social Bite on a five-year lease agreement with the option to extend for a further five years at a nominal rent of £1 per year.
Social Bite will provide 15 high quality, carbon neutral cabin homes, which will come with a 60-year lifespan.
The council will have exclusive access for the purpose of using units to provide temporary accommodations to homeless individuals for a weekly rental fee in line with temporary accommodation rents which will come to the council.
The proposal brings value for money whereby Social Bite will also provide annual grant funding to support the project and the council will cover operational costs relating to maintaining, letting and managing the site.
will be entering into a community consultation stage and applying for planning permission following the decision made by South Lanarkshire Council.
A decision on the application is expected in Q3 2024, paving the way for construction of the homes and hub, beginning in autumn 2025. The first residents are expected to move in the summer of 2025.
Josh is looking to ease the concerns of the local community in upcoming public consultations, and continued: “It’s important to us that the local community are part of this journey. As we begin to embed plans for this new village, we’ll look to start public consultation in the coming months.
“Naturally, whenever you do a project for a more vulnerable demographic like homeless people, there can be anxiety within the community, but we have a great track record where we have never had a single complaint because of how wellliked and embedded it is within the community.
“As long as it is well executed and well run on the site, then people’s concerns can be alleviated.
“The site is currently an industrial wasteland, so sitting as it is, is not doing the local area any good at all.
“When people hear the word ‘homeless’, they assume some terrible hostel, but when people hear the details, then those concerns will be put to bed. A lot of people really care about the homelessness issue and you can’t get any more tangible when thinking about homelessness than building homes. It is the kind of thing people will hopefully rally around and I am really excited to see it come to life.”
Working in partnership with South Lanarkshire Council, their head of Housing Services, Sharon Egan, added: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with Social Bite on this innovative project.
“The energy-efficient modular housing, with housing support, will assist our customers, who are faced with homelessness and the trauma that this brings.
“This exciting partnership will bring training and employment opportunities to our customers, will invest in the local community and support community wealth.
“This addition to our temporary accommodation comes at an integral point where South Lanarkshire are experiencing unprecedented levels of homelessness. This investment in the local community will help transform an unused brownfield site into a visually pleasing development with real and lasting benefits to homeless people.
“We are keen to encourage community engagement and involvement throughout the process and will of course take into account local people’s views.”