More Cash For Temporary Housing In Mid Sussex

Friday, 26 June 2020 07:41

By Karen Dunn

Mid Sussex District Council has set aside £4.2m to pay for more temporary housing.

Since 2018, the council has bought 15 properties to help meet the ever-increasing need for temporary homes and plans to spend £1.4m buying five more.

The news was shared at a virtual meeting of the full council on Wednesday (June 24).

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 travelling 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.”

On January 1 2019, there were 40 households in temporary accommodation in the district – one year later the figure was 72.

Less than a month after that, on January 31, the figure stood at 81, with 41 households being put up in guest houses.

Since the coronavirus pandemic hit, the need has become even more urgent, with 101 households currently in temporary accommodation – the largest group being vulnerable single people with complex needs.

A report to the council said that buying five more properties would save around £80,000 per year by avoiding guest house costs.

Investment in additional affordable housing is part of the council’s Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2020-2025, which was adopted at the same meeting.

By Karen Dunn, Local Democracy Reporter