Council's £5m government loan to house homeless

Herefordshire Council said it had spent more than £3m in a year on temporary Travelodge and B&B-style accommodation for families at risk of homelessness

An extra £5m is set to be spent over the next two years on buying housing for people at risk of homelessness in Herefordshire.

The number of families placed in temporary accommodation in the county has doubled from 74 to 141 since March 2022, according to documents.

Over the past financial year, Herefordshire Council spent more than £3m on what it called "Travelodge/B&B-style accommodation" which "isn't fit for purpose".

The business case for the investment stated a £5m government loan would instead enable it to acquire and develop more stock to meet growing demand.

According to a report set to be approved by Herefordshire Council's cabinet on Thursday, the authority also spent an additional £400,000 on private sector rentals last year, which continue to rise in cost.

Any unused accommodation could be let out to partner organisations, or even "sold off to generate a surplus at some point in the future", the proposal added.

The expectation is any rental income would cover the properties' running costs and provide a surplus to repay the cost of borrowing.

The business case said the loan would come from the government's Public Works Loan Board.

The council would also apply for grants from Homes England to reduce overall borrowing costs.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.