Latest news with #temporaryAccommodation
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Flats dubbed 'open prison' to be redeveloped
Councillors have unanimously backed their authority buying a 14-storey building that was controversially converted from offices into temporary accommodation. Conservative leader of Harlow Council in Essex, Dan Swords, said Terminus House had been "a massive postcard image of the decline of Harlow" and said the authority would redevelop the town centre site. Opposition leader, Labour's James Griggs, said he supported the plans, but his primary concern was what would happen to the 150 to 200 people living there. The council said it would take ownership once the current owner has re-housed the residents. The owner, Caridon, said the building had helped hundreds of people avoid homelessness. Glen Lane, 65, has lived in the tower block in one room with an en-suite since 2018. He described conditions as "the worst place I have ever lived in", saying it "feels like an open prison, probably worse than an open prison". Mr Lane was homeless and said he struggled to get on the local council housing list. "It's depressing. It's got a reputation this property. It's embarrassing when I put my address down," he said. "I feel quite ashamed about it as I haven't always lived like this. I used to have my own property and job but I lost all that." His room is only a few square metres in size. At the end of his double bed, the kitchen begins. For the last eight months he said the property had been plagued with insects. He had used insect powder but they were still "climbing on me at night when I'm sleeping". Crime rose by 20% in the area around Terminus House after it was turned into accommodation in 2018, according to police figures. A BBC East and Panorama documentary highlighted the cramped conditions. In 2021, the government imposed a minimum size of 37 sq m (398 sq ft) on new office to flat conversions. Harlow Council has become the largest landowner in the town centre, buying up buildings to regenerate them into new housing, leisure and retail space. The authority's latest decision to buy Terminus House has brought uncertainty about the building's future. Conservative leader Dan Swords said plans were being finalised on whether it would be demolished or redeveloped. However, he said in any scenario it would look "completely different from that which it does now". "The existing tenants, which have largely nearly all come through temporary accommodation from London boroughs, will be housed outside of Harlow," he said. Labour's James Griggs argued that "sending them back somewhere else seems completely wrong". He told the BBC that some people had been living there for years. "There are families who now consider themselves Harlow families. They have children in Harlow schools, the parents are working in the town." The redeveloped site would likely include housing. The local authority has not disclosed how much it was paying for it. Emma Batrick, a charity organiser who supports local families, said many people living in Terminus House would be "reeling at the news that their homes will be going". "There is a real concern about the human element of this," she said. Caridon, the company that owns Terminus House, said in a statement the building met "a pressing need for temporary accommodation at a time of limited options". "The building has since supported hundreds of individuals and families in avoiding homelessness and finding stability during difficult periods," it said. Speaking at his flat, Mr Lane welcomed Harlow Council's plans. "I'm glad they are doing it. It definitely needs upgrading," he said. But where he and others will end up living is not currently known. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. MP's concern over homes in converted office blocks 'He's banging his head because there is no room' 'I don't want my kids thinking this is normal' Harlow Council
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'I spent half-term looking for somewhere for my family to live'
"I spent all of half-term looking for somewhere to live," says mother-of-three Shanice Aird. The 29-year-old from west London rejected her council's most recent temporary accommodation offer "an hour away" from her children's school. The Shared Health Foundation is urging the government to put in measures to stop children in temporary accommodation going "missing" from schools and GPs after widespread displacement of families across the country. The charity's new report calls for a notification system so that all authorities are aware when a child moves into temporary accommodation. The government says it is investing £1bn in homelessness services this year to help families trapped in temporary accommodation. Ms Aird was living in a secure tenancy flat in Ealing with her three children, aged three, five and seven, but was moved to temporary accommodation in Hounslow in 2021 after witnessing a stabbing. She is now being evicted from the two-bedroom property by the landlord, but says Ealing Council has only offered her unsuitable alternative accommodation, including one flat an hour away from her children's school. Ms Aird says she will soon be homeless and will have to "sofa surf with friends" after the council discharged her from their housing duty. "We haven't been able to do anything this half-term because I'm constantly on the phone to councils, emailing, trying to get as much help as I can," she says. She admits her children's attendance at school is "awful" as they do not have a permanent home. "It's really horrible because as a mum you want to try and provide as much safety and happiness as you can." Ms Aird says she needs to be close to family and friends to help with her mental health. "I have bipolar type 2 and tend to go into depressive episodes, if it's a really bad episode it leads to me not being aware of what I'm doing," she says. "I'm happy to move to another borough, as long as I've got some kind of family support network." Ealing Council said Ms Aird was recently made offers of "suitable properties both in and out of the borough within easy reach of her support networks", which she refused. "Because of her refusal of these property offers, the council have discharged her main housing duty, and we have made a referral to children services at Hounslow Council who may be able to support her under the Children's Act," it added. More than 164,000 homeless children are currently living in temporary accommodation across England, the highest number on record, figures show. Analysis of government data by homeless charity Shelter suggests there are almost 94,000 children in London living in temporary accommodation. As a result, families are being displaced with some Londoners being moved miles away due to a lack of permanent affordable housing in the capital, according to Alicia Walker, Shelter's assistant director for activism and advocacy. "We're sending children and families from London to Manchester, but Manchester has the very same problem, then the children and families in Manchester might be moved to means we've got a country of displaced people," she says. Dr Laura Neilson, founder of the Shared Health Foundation which co-chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group on temporary accommodation, says they want to see children "still have access to education and healthcare" so they "get to live a much more normal childhood than these children are experiencing". "We are asking the government to be more curious about how many children are missing from education because of temporary accommodation," she adds. Felicity Afriyie has lived in temporary accommodation for 21 years with her three children aged 16, 19, and 20. In that time they have lived in more than 10 houses. Currently, they are living in a one-bedroom hostel in Lambeth, south London. In previous temporary accommodation, she says her children's journeys to school took two hours. The 53-year-old says it took so long to do the school run she "spent the whole day" waiting for her children to finish school. "Sometimes you see schoolchildren on the bus sleeping because they come from very far," she says. Her daughter Grace, 20, says: "One of our school journeys was two hours. "Doing that distance to school every day was awful. It's had a massive impact on our education. "You can't expect a 16 year old... that's moved houses more times than they can count to sit a set of exams that will change their life and expect them to perform as well as their more stable affluent counterparts. "It's not fair and it's not a level playing field." Grace says she has dropped out of university due to the stress of temporary accommodation. "Some of us are actually trying to get out of the system," she says. "We've grown up like this and we don't want the generation after us to be in the same position. We're never going to get out of the system when it's stacked against us." Lambeth Council says it had made a direct offer of suitable permanent accommodation to Ms Afriyie but she turned it down and requested a review. The review found that the permanent property proposed was suitable. Local authorities have a legal duty to provide temporary accommodation to anyone who qualifies as homeless. Adam Hug, housing spokesperson for the Local Government Association, is calling on the government to urgently increase the temporary accommodation subsidy in the upcoming Spending Review. "Frozen temporary accommodation subsidy rates have left councils to pick up more than £700m in temporary accommodation costs that they are unable to claim back from government." The government says the forthcoming Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill aims to introduce better protections for all children and better join-up between children's social care, schools and other local services. Through the children not in school registers, there will be a single unique identifier for every child and a requirement for every council to have multi-agency child protection team. "Protecting vulnerable children falling through the cracks are at the heart of the forthcoming Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which represents the single biggest piece of child protection legislation in a generation," a government spokesperson said. "We are also investing £1bn in homelessness services this year to help families trapped in temporary accommodation, driving up housing standards and delivering on our commitment to build more social and affordable homes." Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to 'I kept pretending everything was normal' Temporary housing linked to deaths of at least 74 children Government must tackle temporary accommodation crisis, say MPs Shared Health Foundation
BBC News
02-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Housing: Call to stop displaced children going 'missing' from schools
"I spent all of half-term looking for somewhere to live," says mother-of-three Shanice 29-year-old from west London rejected her council's most recent temporary accommodation offer "an hour away" from her children's Shared Health Foundation is urging the government to put in measures to stop children in temporary accommodation going "missing" from schools and GPs after widespread displacement of families across the country. The charity's new report calls for a notification system so that all authorities are aware when a child moves into temporary government says it is investing £1bn in homelessness services this year to help families trapped in temporary accommodation. 'My family will soon be homeless' Ms Aird was living in a secure tenancy flat in Ealing with her three children, aged three, five and seven, but was moved to temporary accommodation in Hounslow in 2021 after witnessing a stabbing. She is now being evicted from the two-bedroom property by the landlord, but says Ealing Council has only offered her unsuitable alternative accommodation, including one flat an hour away from her children's Aird says she will soon be homeless and will have to "sofa surf with friends" after the council discharged her from their housing duty."We haven't been able to do anything this half-term because I'm constantly on the phone to councils, emailing, trying to get as much help as I can," she admits her children's attendance at school is "awful" as they do not have a permanent home."It's really horrible because as a mum you want to try and provide as much safety and happiness as you can." Ms Aird says she needs to be close to family and friends to help with her mental health. "I have bipolar type 2 and tend to go into depressive episodes, if it's a really bad episode it leads to me not being aware of what I'm doing," she says."I'm happy to move to another borough, as long as I've got some kind of family support network."Ealing Council said Ms Aird was recently made offers of "suitable properties both in and out of the borough within easy reach of her support networks", which she refused."Because of her refusal of these property offers, the council have discharged her main housing duty, and we have made a referral to children services at Hounslow Council who may be able to support her under the Children's Act," it added. 'Normal childhood' More than 164,000 homeless children are currently living in temporary accommodation across England, the highest number on record, figures of government data by homeless charity Shelter suggests there are almost 94,000 children in London living in temporary a result, families are being displaced with some Londoners being moved miles away due to a lack of permanent affordable housing in the capital, according to Alicia Walker, Shelter's assistant director for activism and advocacy."We're sending children and families from London to Manchester, but Manchester has the very same problem, then the children and families in Manchester might be moved to means we've got a country of displaced people," she says. Dr Laura Neilson, founder of the Shared Health Foundation which co-chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group on temporary accommodation, says they want to see children "still have access to education and healthcare" so they "get to live a much more normal childhood than these children are experiencing"."We are asking the government to be more curious about how many children are missing from education because of temporary accommodation," she adds. Felicity Afriyie has lived in temporary accommodation for 21 years with her three children aged 16, 19, and 20. In that time they have lived in more than 10 houses. Currently, they are living in a one-bedroom hostel in Lambeth, south previous temporary accommodation, she says her children's journeys to school took two 53-year-old says it took so long to do the school run she "spent the whole day" waiting for her children to finish school."Sometimes you see schoolchildren on the bus sleeping because they come from very far," she says. 'It's not a level playing field' Her daughter Grace, 20, says: "One of our school journeys was two hours. "Doing that distance to school every day was awful. It's had a massive impact on our education."You can't expect a 16 year old... that's moved houses more times than they can count to sit a set of exams that will change their life and expect them to perform as well as their more stable affluent counterparts. "It's not fair and it's not a level playing field."Grace says she has dropped out of university due to the stress of temporary accommodation."Some of us are actually trying to get out of the system," she says. "We've grown up like this and we don't want the generation after us to be in the same position. We're never going to get out of the system when it's stacked against us."Lambeth Council says it had made a direct offer of suitable permanent accommodation to Ms Afriyie but she turned it down and requested a review. The review found that the permanent property proposed was suitable. Local authorities have a legal duty to provide temporary accommodation to anyone who qualifies as Hug, housing spokesperson for the Local Government Association, is calling on the government to urgently increase the temporary accommodation subsidy in the upcoming Spending Review."Frozen temporary accommodation subsidy rates have left councils to pick up more than £700m in temporary accommodation costs that they are unable to claim back from government."The government says the forthcoming Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill aims to introduce better protections for all children and better join-up between children's social care, schools and other local the children not in school registers, there will be a single unique identifier for every child and a requirement for every council to have multi-agency child protection team."Protecting vulnerable children falling through the cracks are at the heart of the forthcoming Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which represents the single biggest piece of child protection legislation in a generation," a government spokesperson said."We are also investing £1bn in homelessness services this year to help families trapped in temporary accommodation, driving up housing standards and delivering on our commitment to build more social and affordable homes."
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Flooding victims 'so happy' to finally return home
People who had to move out of their homes and into temporary accommodation due to flooding have been allowed to return home after eight months. Emergency services were called to Bulwer Street in Bootle, Merseyside, on 30 September after water started gushing into people's homes, with many requiring rescue boats to get out safely. It was the second major flooding incident reported on the road in the last 14 years and left dozens of residents effectively homeless as their living spaces became submerged. Some of the residents told the Local Democracy Reporting Service they were glad to be home but worried about the prospect of this happening again in future. "It has happened before, so we kind of knew what to expect, but still, it is a huge shock to have to leave your house when all the sewage water is coming in," said Linda Crilly. "Now that more and more people are back home there is a sense of relief but it's tempered with a bit of caution." She said the response had been "a lot better this time, in the sense that we've had people with contact numbers and names that we can get in touch with if there's been any problems". Sarah, 34, who lives with her 13-year-old daughter Izzy and her guide dog Ronnie, said: "We were living in a hotel for several weeks before we actually got a temporary home, and that was stressful enough, because we were moving from hotel to hotel," she said. She said they were "so happy to be back home but when it rains it does make you worry". Residents held a celebration event on Friday where they presented a representative of the company tasked with the clean-up operation with gifts to thank her for her support. Sarah said Paula Prescott from the Forshaw Group "has been amazing and done so much including giving me a hug", adding that "we'd be lost without her". Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230. Flooding victims not going home for Christmas Floods leave woman's sofa 'floating' in living room United Utilities
BBC News
01-06-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Flooding victims forced out of homes return after eight months
People who had to move out of their homes and into temporary accommodation due to flooding have been allowed to return home after eight services were called to Bulwer Street in Bootle, Merseyside, on 30 September after water started gushing into people's homes, with many requiring rescue boats to get out was the second major flooding incident reported on the road in the last 14 years and left dozens of residents effectively homeless as their living spaces became of the residents told the Local Democracy Reporting Service they were glad to be home but worried about the prospect of this happening again in future. "It has happened before, so we kind of knew what to expect, but still, it is a huge shock to have to leave your house when all the sewage water is coming in," said Linda Crilly."Now that more and more people are back home there is a sense of relief but it's tempered with a bit of caution."She said the response had been "a lot better this time, in the sense that we've had people with contact numbers and names that we can get in touch with if there's been any problems". Sarah, 34, who lives with her 13-year-old daughter Izzy and her guide dog Ronnie, said: "We were living in a hotel for several weeks before we actually got a temporary home, and that was stressful enough, because we were moving from hotel to hotel," she said. She said they were "so happy to be back home but when it rains it does make you worry".Residents held a celebration event on Friday where they presented a representative of the company tasked with the clean-up operation with gifts to thank her for her said Paula Prescott from the Forshaw Group "has been amazing and done so much including giving me a hug", adding that "we'd be lost without her". Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
