Basildon Council £80million to buy new homes for families in need

Hundreds of vulnerable families in the borough are currently living in temporary accommodation and Basildon Council is spending £3million a year on B&Bs and hotels. 

This could rocket to £11million in coming years and Labour council leader Gavin Callaghan is spearheading a scheme which will see the council buy between 300 and 500 new homes to eventually cut the cost. 

Cllr Gavin Callaghan has pushed for greater investment in temporary accomodation (Image: Gavin Callaghan)
As part of the new scheme, homes will be given to people in need until they find permanent private accommodation or are allocated a council home. 

At a cabinet meeting on Tuesday night, councillors voted to allocate the funds and progress with finding suitable homes which are due to be constructed in the next two years. 

“Right now, we have 150 families living in bed and breakfast accommodation across Basildon, and the situation is dire,” Mr Callaghan said. 

“These families are being housed in temporary, short-term solutions that were never designed to support people long-term.

“On top of that, we’ve got another 600 families spread out across the borough in temporary housing.”

The Chapelgate development will deliver 105 high quality new homes (Image: BPTW)
Last month the council announced it intended to purchase up to 500 homes and is in the process of doing a deal to purchase homes at the under construction Chapelgate and Broadmayne developments. 

Independent councillor for Nethermayne, Kerry Smith. Mr Smith described the spending increase as “a pre-emptive step to keep the council solvent and make sure that people facing temporary accommodation aren’t stuck somewhere unsuitable”.

He added: “What we’re trying to do is acquire assets for the council where we can place our temporary accommodation residents”

“This is about stopping this council from becoming bankrupt by doing nothing about the issue with temporary accommodation. If we do nothing, we will be facing bankruptcy.”

According to Mr Smith, the council will now begin looking for acquisition opportunities.

Minutes from Tuesday’s meeting state: “The approach aimed to continue to support the wider priorities of the council including the regeneration of Basildon town centre, supporting vulnerable residents, and ensuring the council is financially robust and sustainable.”