PEOPLE HOUSED IN B&Bs FOR OVER A YEAR

PEOPLE are being housed in temporary accommodation including bed and breakfasts and hostels for excessive lengths of time. 

Periods for some residents in emergency bed and breakfast in Charnwood are stretching for as long as 515 days for what is supposed to be a stop – gap solution.  

The borough has the highest homelessness figure in Leicestershire with high number of people without a permanent home and classified as homeless. 

The high numbers were raised at a meeting of Charnwood Borough Council by shadow spokesperson for finance, property & assets Councillor Miah of Lemyngton ward.  

Another example Cllr Miah highlighted is someone in temporary housing for 212 days. 

He said the mix of people time living this way for so long needs to be tracked to analyse the effects on particular groups within the borough’s population. 

“Such long periods of time in temporary accommodation need to be flagged up by the council,” said Cllr Miah. 

However Charnwood Borough Council cabinet lead for private housing Councillor Paul Mercer said the authority has no duty or legal process to house a lot of these people housed temporarily. 

“People for example at the Falcon Centre have complex needs and we can’t simply move them on to where we’re not looking after them,” said Cllr Mercer. 

Last week a report by housing charity Shelter detailed Charnwood as having the highest rate of homelessness per capita in Leicestershire, with one in 496 people living in a hostel, temporary accommodation, or on the streets in the borough. The majority of these people are housed temporarily in bed and breakfasts, hostels, sofa surfing or in houses they have a need to move on from and have been classified as homeless.