Council buys four homes to ease housing pressure

North Devon Council described the increasing cost of housing people in temporary accommodation as "a worrying trend"

North Devon Council has purchased four properties in a bid to ease demand for more temporary housing.

Two of the new homes will be used to provide temporary accommodation and two will be used for the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme.

Half of the money to pay for the properties will come from the government’s Local Authority Housing Fund and the rest from the council.

North Devon Council has previously described the increasing cost of housing people in temporary accommodation such as B&Bs as "a worrying trend".

'Much-needed asset'

Last year, the local authority earmarked £2m for temporary accommodation.

North Devon Council previously bought nine properties using £1m it received in the first round of the scheme and which it match-funded.

It did not take part in round two because it claimed the rules made it difficult to use the properties for temporary accommodation.

The four new properties have been bought using a grant provided from the third round of the scheme.

Funding is based on the £305,000 average cost of property in North Devon, with the homes expected to increase in value and provide "a much-needed asset" for the future.