£700k funding secured for Grimsby homeless people's complex

Swan House in Grimsby will be open "in the very near future", North East Lincolnshire Council says

Hundreds of thousands of pounds in government funding has been awarded for new homeless accommodation in Grimsby.

A total of £700,000 will go to Swan House, which is being leased by North East Lincolnshire Council for 10 years to house single homeless people.

The council said it would also help former rough sleepers eligible for statutory homelessness assistance to gain independent living skills.

The Swan House site would be open "in the very near future", it added.

Statistics gathered by the Shelter homelessness charity found that as of 30 June this year, there were 159 people registered as homeless in North East Lincolnshire.

Commenting on the figures, a council spokesperson said about 4,000 people had contacted the local authority's homelessness prevention service for advice in the last year.

The cash for Swan House, on Newhaven Terrace, had come from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, the authority said.

The majority of people put up by the council in temporary accommodation were placed in B&Bs and hotels in 2022, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Swan House aimed to reduce the use of those more expensive options.

Council leader Phillip Jackson said: "We are hoping Swan House will be open in the very near future.

"Securing this funding will allow us to help those who need the support before they are ready to live independently."