A move to provide more temporary accommodation for homeless families in Knowsley has been approved by Cabinet.
Members approved a proposal for the Council to buy privately owned properties and re-purpose vacant Council-owned commercial buildings into residential units to provide temporary accommodation for the increasing number of families facing homelessness.
The Council will fund the measure using £1 million from land and asset sales, as well as £390,000 already allocated to purchase properties for this purpose.
Demand for temporary housing is consistently exceeding the council’s current provision of 63 units – in the six months to August 2023 there were an average of 89 households needing housing. This has resulted in the council booking nightly hotels and bed and breakfasts to meet the shortfall in provision. Such solutions are far from ideal as not only are they more costly but they can not provide a home-like environment for residents .
Cllr Tony Brennan, Knowsley’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economic Development said: “This measure will enable the Council to increase its temporary accommodation provision while reducing our reliance on hotels or bed and breakfasts and the leasing of social housing. This will support the wellbeing of families facing housing crisis and ensure they can access self-contained accommodation.”