Councils in Portsmouth area welcome £433m boost to house the homeless

Housing secretary Robert Jenrick this week announced a scheme to create 6,000 new supported long-term homes for rough sleepers, with the view to have 3,300 ready in the next year.

It comes after local authorities were tasked with providing accommodation for homeless people to allow them to self isolate at the start of the pandemic, which was backed by government funding.

As part of this Portsmouth City Council provided homes for rough sleepers and homeless families in three hotels - where there were some reports of anti-social behaviour.

Leader Councillor Gerald Vernon-Jackson said the council was currently looking after 200 rough sleepers and 60 families. He said: 'One of the things that came out of the pandemic was there were more people presenting themselves as homeless than we expected - partly because some of them were what we call the "hidden homeless" and people were less willing to have them staying on their sofas at this time.'

He believed a different approach would be needed going forward.

'We could rent more homes from landlords or we could buy homes from the open market but that is expensive and there aren't many homes,' he said.

'We could build our own but that takes a lot of land and money.

'I am keen that rules change to allow councils to buy land to build on that developers have left derelict for a long time, which is something we will be looking into this week.'

Bev Saunders, the founder of Helping Hands - a group that feeds the city’s rough sleepers - explained that not all rough sleepers are willing to stay in accommodation provided.

She said: 'It's not a case of one size fits all. The best thing the government could do is employ more outreach workers so when rough sleepers are put in homes they aren't just put there and left.

'You can't put people who are potentially mentally damaged or have problems with drink or drugs somewhere and leave them. They need someone to act as support, to tell them where their nearest GP is, where they can get food and to help them along the way.'

In Gosport the council installed 30 temporary heated cabins in a car park.

Council leader Cllr Mark Hook said: 'We are currently housing 29 individuals and three couples in those pods.

'I welcome the initiative. I think it definitely gives us the opportunity to try to eradicate rough sleeping, but we will never eradicate it completely.

'There will always be those who choose that lifestyle but anyone who needs help to get off the streets in Gosport will be given it.'

Gosport MP Caroline Dinenage added: ‘From my regular updates with the council, I have been incredibly impressed with their brilliant work to ensure that every known rough sleeper in our local area has been offered accommodation.

‘This is a fantastic feat, and one that we are seeing replicated cross the country.

‘This is not just a short-term response in reaction to the pandemic, but a genuine commitment to ensure that we end rough sleeping for good.’

Fareham Borough Council leader, Cllr Sean Woodward, added: 'For the majority this is excellent news.

'It's a classic you can lead a horse to water situation - not everyone wants the accommodation that we offer. But in Fareham our number of rough sleepers is in single figures and they have all been offered accommodation. And help will always be there for those who want it.'

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