Four-year battle against the odds ends in triumph as work starts on new homes for homeless families in Portsmouth

The Portsmouth Community Housing Trust (PCHT) was formed with the mission to take ownership or management of property to provide accommodation for those most in need. As its first project it took on a pair of semi-detached houses in Angerstein Road, North End.

After board members worked diligently for years to overcome financial, legal and logistical challenges - wondering whether their perseverance was going to pay off - the green light to go ahead is now shining brightly and workmen have moved in. They will refurbish, remodel and upgrade the properties to provide two four-bed houses, with the hope that the first families will move in by the end of the year.

Trust chairman Fr Bob White said: ‘Visiting the properties and seeing the work under way was a very special day – a group of us have been working for four years towards this moment on what has been a rollercoaster of a journey. I am proud at what we have now achieved and excited that we will be able to offer refurbished homes to those in need of them in our city.’

Fr Bob said a great deal of work was carried out across the city to support homeless charities and individuals and seek to meet their needs. But he added that the existence of PCHT was vital as it was set up to tackle the underlying problem of homelessness - the lack of homes for people to move into.

‘There is a bottleneck and a growing number of people who can get stuck in hostels or bed and breakfast accommodation so we are committed to seeking to do what we can to provide homes and address this underlying cause,’ he added.

Among the trust board members, Andrew Mason has worked hard to progress the financial and legal paperwork while Mark Singleton has taken control of project managing the building work.

Carrying out the work is Farlington-based JPC Property Services. The trust wanted to use a city-based firm and said it was grateful that JPC directors Keith Johnson and Neil Scutt had shown patience in sticking with them despite a series of delays and then being ready to move in as soon as contracts had been signed and funding put in place.

‘We at JPC are very grateful for the trust shown in our company to carry out the required works,’ said Keith. ‘It is a fantastic opportunity for us to ply all our trades into such a large project. As a property maintenance company it's always nice to see the works from start to finish, whether that is a room to decorate or a kitchen to renovate. But on this project, we will get the satisfaction tenfold on the finished works as they progress.’

PCHT will now start actively looking for other properties which are surplus to the needs of property owners in both the public and private sectors to bring them back into use for social housing. They also need funding to keep their work progressing.

To find out more information go to www.portsmouthcht.org.uk or search for Portsmouth Community Housing Trust.