Berkshire: Refugees move into new homes thanks to £9m housing project

Seven homes have been purchased so far in Calcot, Thatcham, Newbury and Hungerford

Displaced families from Ukraine and Afghanistan will begin moving into new homes this week thanks to a £9m housing project.

West Berkshire Council aims to provide 27 new homes for refugees who arrived under government resettlement schemes but do not have suitable accommodation.

Seven houses and flats have been purchased across the county so far.

The council said it is working to deliver the remaining accommodation by spring this year.

Homes have been purchased in Calcot, Thatcham, Newbury and Hungerford.

Denise Gaines, West Berkshire Council executive member for housing, believes the scheme will help vulnerable people in the area

The council also hopes to transform its former West Point House office in Newbury into apartments.

Councillor Denise Gaines, executive member for housing, said: "This scheme will help us to support vulnerable people who have moved to our district from areas of the world which are unsafe for them.

"It will allow them a place to settle and in time, as they move on, leave us with accommodation we can use to across our wider housing service.

"This project has been enabled through central government funding as well as West Berkshire Council funding and is in addition to the support we already provide.

"It means we can help those arriving under settlement schemes without impacting on the services we provide for residents who need our help now or in the future."

The government has given West Berkshire Council £3.6m through its Local Authority Housing Fund, which was set up to help councils supporting displaced families arriving in the UK.

Families from Ukraine were displaced after Russian troops invaded their home country in February 2022, while refugees from Afghanistan fled the country after the Taliban takeover in 2021.

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