County backs £11.6m plan to tackle homelessness

North Yorkshire Council says 40 families are in temporary accommodation at any one time in Scarborough

A council which has spent millions of pounds to house families in hotels and B&Bs has approved a plan to tackle homelessness.

North Yorkshire Council is to build 90 new temporary accommodation units, with a focus on Scarborough, at a cost of £11.6m.

The authority said it had seen a 400% increase in hotel and B&B costs since 2020.

Councillors predicted the changes could bring annual savings of £1.7m by 2027/28.

'It's our duty'

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, North Yorkshire Council spent more than £2m on temporary accommodation last year.

Councillor Simon Myers, member for housing, told a meeting that at any one time in Scarborough, 40 families were in temporary accommodation at a cost of £32,850 per bed per year.

He added: "It is particularly opportune that we are in Scarborough today because it is here that there is such considerable pressure.

"It’s not a cheap project and there are people out there who can benefit and it’s our duty to do this."

A four-year deadline has been set for constructing and acquiring the properties.

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