Riverside Group to shut sites in Bury St Edmunds, Haverhill and in Great Cornard, near Sudbury, with residents at risk of losing homes

A supported housing provider is set to shut three of its sites in Suffolk with more than 30 young people at risk of losing their homes.

Riverside Group said it is being forced to make cuts after Suffolk County Council reduced its funding.

The provider’s sites at Acorn House in Bury St Edmunds and Coupals Court in Haverhill, which offer supported housing for young parents aged 16 to 25 who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, will shut by March 31.

Residents of Lindsey Court in Great Cornard, near Sudbury, will also no longer receive support from Riverside and the building will be handed back to the landlord.

Lindsey Court supports young parents aged 16 to 25 with mental health issues, support needs, relationship issues and substance misuse or homelessness.

Suffolk County Council (SCC) said it is continuing to work in partnership with providers such as Riverside, and district and borough councils' housing teams, to support people who need help maintaining a home in Suffolk.

Riverside Group said it was advised by the county council in January that it needed to deliver savings of £2 million in 2025/26 by ‘rebalancing responsibilities relating to Housing Related Support (HRS) Services’.

A Riverside spokesperson said: “In June, SCC advised all providers, including Riverside, they were offering a contractual variation to reduce the capacity of total HRS services in Suffolk by 63.4 per cent.

“We have been in negotiations with SCC, district council and borough councils. The district council and borough councils have advised us that they don’t have funds to bridge the gap between what SCC can offer and fully retaining our services.

“Disappointingly, this has led to us making some very difficult decisions around the services that we run in Suffolk. We know that other providers in the county are having to make the same tough decisions.

“Unfortunately, because of such significant cuts to funding, we came to the incredibly difficult decision that we could no longer retain all of our young parent bedspaces.

“As a direct result of this, by March 31, 2025, Coupals Court and Acorn House will close. We will cease supporting customers at Lindsey Court and the building will be handed back to Orbit, the landlord.”

The spokesperson added they are working with the councils to support 32 people to be rehoused as they discuss the next steps with them.

Cllr Richard O’Driscoll, cabinet member for housing at West Suffolk Council, said the closures will affect 24 families currently in accommodation at Acorn House and Coupals Court, all of which will be owed a statutory homelessness duty should they lose the accommodation.

"We are hugely disappointed and saddened that West Suffolk will be losing these important services and that families could be made homeless as a consequence,” he said.

"We will work with them to try and find solutions to ensure they don’t become homeless.

"In addition to housing needs it is understood that some of the families may have relationships with social care for additional support and that will continue regardless of where the families are living.

"We have had discussions with SCC and Riverside to see if there is a way of retaining this accommodation and minimising the disruption and impact to all concerned. To date this has not been possible.”

Cllr O’Driscoll added that WSC will continue to talk to Riverside to find a way of retaining some service in West Suffolk.

A Babergh District Council spokesperson said: “We are committed to supporting residents impacted by the changes in HRS, working closely with social care and housing colleagues to ensure they receive the assistance they need during this transition.

“Where changes may impact current residents at Lindsey Court, we are collaborating with Riverside and other agencies to provide tailored support plans, prioritising their wellbeing and continuity of care.”

A Suffolk County Council spokesperson said changes agreed earlier this year mean that from April 2025, the county council will only make referrals into HRS services for people who meet the eligibility criteria under the Care Act or Children’s Act as per its statutory duties.

"This change will mean some services will have to be delivered in different ways, or end in their current form,” they said.

“Where these changes impact individuals, we will work with them and our partners to help them to get the right support moving forward.

"Suffolk County Council maintains our statutory commitment to support care leavers and people with assessed social care needs as we always have."