Crawley council warns housing costs 'not sustainable'

A report has shown Crawley had a £3m overspend on homelessness and temporary accommodation last year

The leader of Crawley Borough Council said the cost of temporary housing is "not sustainable" and reported a £3m overspend on the provision.

Labour leader Michael Jones made the remarks during a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Mr Jones said growing housing pressures posed "a critical risk to the council's financial resilience".

Figures for the financial year ending 31 March showed the council had a £3.7m overspend overall.

The overspend was £148,000 less than had been predicted in December.

The council declared a housing emergency in February and said accommodation costs had increased 20-fold in five years.

In March, Mr Jones wrote to multiple government departments saying a plan to close four asylum seeker hotels and disperse residents into the community without proper support was among the factors causing pressure.

More than £1.3m of the overspend was offset by income from investments.

During the meeting, Conservative leader Duncan Crow said the council's financial situation had "deteriorated significantly" since the budget for 2023-24 was set.