West Suffolk Council members approve extra £612,000 to tackle homelessness and housing challenges

District leaders have approved an extra £612,000 to tackle homelessness and housing challenges.

Members of West Suffolk’s cabinet met yesterday evening to discuss proposals to address the challenges through a new housing, homelessness reduction and rough sleep strategy.

The proposals included an extra £612,000 investment into home affordability, living conditions and homelessness prevention ‘before crisis point is reached’.

Cllr Richard O’Driscoll, the lead for housing at the council, said West Suffolk, like other areas across the county, was facing a ‘major housing challenge’.

He added: “What the strategy does is look at the role the council can play in addressing these challenges — it’s a strategy that strengthens and allies the council’s approach to housing.

“We will build on the work already on the way to reach the best possible outcomes for residents.”

Broken down, the funding includes £50,000 for feasibility studies to bring empty homes into use, £62,000 for a homelessness prevention scheme over two years and £500,000 to continue exploring options to increase the housing supply along the A11, A1307, A14 and the Brandon Commission.

The money was in addition to a £1 million investment committed when the council’s budget was set in February — this included £100,000 to explore whether the council could build its own homes rather than rely on housing associations, the outcome of which is still pending.

According to council papers, West Suffolk currently has more than 2,500 households on its housing register for affordable homes, including close to 1,000 in urgent or high need.

The report states: “For many of these households the high cost of rent in West Suffolk has increased the risk of homelessness or actually resulted in people losing their homes.”

Cllr O’Driscoll added: “We want to help more people better afford a place to live. Without a decent home to live in, it really is very difficult to play an active part in your community.

“We need new homes, but we also need to ensure they are the right type, in the right locations and that they are supported with infrastructure,”

This investment totalling £1.6 million followed several other funding announcements over recent months, including an extra £200,000 initial from the council to replace the Suffolk County Council’s outgoing Housing Related Support (HRS) funding.

Elsewhere, a £1 million commitment was also made in July by Suffolk Public Sector Leaders (SPSL) group to support district council’s transition to a more localised provision of HRS.

Yesterday’s proposals were supported unanimously by members of the cabinet, who recommended it for final approval at the next full council meeting in two months, on November 19.