A Derbyshire council is due to spend £3.8 million on 23 homes providing temporary accommodation for Afghan refugees and people who become homeless.
Derbyshire Dales District Council has been given £3.8 million by central Government, from its £450 million local authority housing fund.
The council has already been given £2.2 million from a previous round of the fund, securing 20 homes for Afghan and Ukrainian refugees along with Dales residents who find themselves homeless – all on a temporary basis.
This new batch of £3.8 million would see 23 homes secured – 15 of which must be new homes as opposed to renovated existing houses – with eight homes to be reserved for Afghan refugees.
These homes would add to the 12 temporary accommodation properties in the district, owned and managed by the Nottingham Community Housing Association.
The council wishes to use the accommodation to reduce the ongoing costs of housing people in B&Bs, increase its housing stock, and tackle empty homes.
It says: “Providing additional affordable homes to rent locally would be helpful in meeting the needs of homeless families.
“There are numerous other benefits including bringing empty homes back into use, improving the energy efficiency of poor quality homes, relieving residents in financial stress who are looking to sell their home and impacting on demand for affordable housing.
“This provision will reduce the demand for temporary accommodation, including B&B use.
“The previous rounds were focused on Afghan and Ukrainian refugees. This new round reflects the extreme difficulties some councils are facing in relation to the provision of temporary accommodation and an ongoing need to support Afghan refugees.
“Nationally the issue of homelessness remains very challenging for local authorities and so Local Authority Housing Fund Three (LHF3) also seeks to expand the availability of affordable homes.”
The project also aims to reduce the cost of unregistered supported accommodation, which costs the council £200,000 each year.
A report on the issue, to be discussed on Thursday, September 26, details that 10 of the new homes would be provided over the next year, and the remaining 13 in the financial year 2025 to 2026.
The council will also receive £25,624 from central Government to help deliver the scheme.
