Homeless 'pods' built in Ashford car park

Ashford Borough Council chose under-used Henwood car park for a homeless housing scheme

Temporary homes for unhoused people have been built in an unused car park in a Kent town centre.

Ashford Borough Council installed 23 factory-built "pods", named Fortis House, with a modular-build company in June.

Homeless families will be able to move into the self-contained units by the end of the summer before eventually being housed in permanent accommodation, the council says.

The project has cost a total of £7.4m and government’s Homes for England scheme contributed £80,000 per unit, making a total of £1,840,000.

The council had originally planned to use shipping containers as temporary housing but opted for the pods due to their eco-friendly credentials.

Each pod weighs 12 tonnes and is highly insulated and triple glazed, with a lifespan of 60 years.

Each home will be partly powered by 180 solar panels installed on their roofs.

The development includes 13 one-bedroom, nine two-bedroom and one three-bedroom homes, a communal garden and 19 parking bays, two of which are for the disabled.

As the homes are sitting on a flood zone, designers put the houses on 2.4m (8ft) stilts to avoid extreme weather events.

The pods each have their own front door, a private balcony and meet police security standards as well as the government's Nationally Described Space Standards.

In June, the Henwood car park project won Modern Methods of Construction award at the Constructing Excellence (London & South East region) 2024 Awards.