Council secures Government funding for homeless accommodation

Cheshire West and Chester Council has been successful in its bid for over £2.6 million to provide homes and help for people sleeping rough or at risk of sleeping rough.

The funding has been awarded by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ Single Homeless Accommodation Programme.

The Council has secured £2.1 million to carry out conversion works at Curzon House in Chester for 36 bedrooms, and 24/7 wrap-around support for homeless households for the next three years. Around £550,000 will also be received towards the cost of acquiring six one-bedroom flats for former homeless individuals, with a support worker funded for next three years to help those people through any issues or challenges that they have.

Cheshire West and Chester Council is committed to ending rough sleeping and reducing homelessness in the borough. The Council helps many people who are at risk of homelessness or are currently homeless by finding them suitable, supported accommodation until they can find more permanent homes. This successful bid will help to fund new supported accommodation that is being developed by the Council across the borough.

This accommodation supports people while they are faced with homelessness so that there is less reliance on hotels, which are costly and not suitable for long-term living and developing independence. These supported accommodation schemes make a big difference to people’s lives by creating the environment for the right wrap-around support and are an important part of the community.

Cllr Christine Warner, Cabinet Member for Homes, Planning and Safer Communities, said:

“We are proud that Cheshire West and Chester is a compassionate Council that works hard to support those most in need. The Council has a strong track record in being a Borough of Sanctuary, and we want to make sure that people don’t spend any more Christmases without a home.

“I would like to thank the Council’s Strategic Housing Team and wider colleagues who have successfully secured this funding which will help us to continue developing supported accommodation schemes.

“People sleeping either on the streets or spending prolonged periods of time confined to a single room in a hotel is not an adequate response for people in difficult circumstances, and not one that we would want for our family or friends. That’s why we’re looking at developing more accommodation like this to ensure that people at risk of homelessness can access suitable, supported accommodation while they seek a more permanent long-term home.”

The Government’s Single Homelessness Accommodation Programme aims to increase the supply of high-quality accommodation with accompanying support to address gaps in homelessness provision.

To find out more about the Council’s approach to homelessness and supported accommodation, please visit:

Supported housing scheme | Cheshire West and Chester Council

If you are homeless or threatened with homelessness and you need assistance, you should contact our Housing Options team on:

0808 175 3595

(Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 9am - 4.30pm) and (Wednesday 1pm - 4.30pm).

You can also report a rough sleeper on this number or via Streetlink: 

thestreetlink.org.uk

If you are homeless out of normal office hours and you need accommodation, you can ring our Out of Hours number on:

0300 123 7035

This number is not for general housing advice but for people who need emergency accommodation.