Council asks for urgent help over housing emergency

Crawley Borough Council declared a housing emergency in February

The leader of Crawley Borough Council has written to multiple government departments asking for urgent help over its housing emergency.

Council leader Michael Jones says the plan to close four asylum seeker hotels and disperse residents into the community without proper government support is among the factors causing unprecedented pressure.

In just five years the council’s accommodation costs have spiralled from £262,000 to £5.7m, he said, putting its financial sustainability at “acute risk”.

The Government says it "recognises" the challenges councils face and has recently announced an additional £600m support package.

Crawley council leader wrote to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, the Department for Work and Pensions, the Home Office, Defra, the Cabinet, and the Treasury warning communities will suffer if action is not taken.

The council declared a housing emergency in February amid the 20-fold increase in accommodation costs and warned things will get worse.

Councillor Michael Jones says housing demand is outstripping availability and people in “real need” are being left in unsuitable accommodation for long periods of time, sometimes out of the area.

Unaffordable home ownership, soaring private rents, a shortage of council housing, water neutrality planning restrictions and plans to close four asylum contingency hotels are among the factors causing pressure, the council says.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities says the government is on track to build 1m homes and has invested £10bn in housing supply.

A spokesperson said: “We are spending almost £2.4 billion over three years to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping, including over £1.2 billion for the Homelessness Prevention Grant which councils can use to prevent homelessness and support families into settled accommodation – which includes £2.4 million for Crawley between 2023-2025.

“We recognise councils are facing challenges and that is why we recently announced an additional £600 million support package for councils across England, increasing their overall funding for the upcoming financial year to £64.7 billion – a 7.5% increase in cash terms.”

There were 2,796 applications made for just 243 available homes in the last eight months - which is more than 11 applicants per property.

More than 1,200 people currently live in temporary accommodation.

Councillor Jones said the issues are not in the council’s control and instead require a “coordinated government response” - failure to do so in the Spring Budget “put the future of councils at serious risk”, he added.