Wellingborough homeless hostel set to close

The Seen and Heard in Wellingborough is in the building of a former hotel

A hostel that has been providing temporary accommodation for homeless people for two and a half years will close at the end of March.

The Seen and Heard on Midland Road in Wellingborough is in the building of the former Euro Hotel.

It is run by the Housing Network and provides 24-hour staffing and security at the 18-bed home.

The company said the property needed "significant investment" and that the landlord had decided to sell it.

It became vacant after the death of homeless man Jonathan Upex in December 2019.

A review said he had been the victim of many missed opportunities to help him.

The property reopened in 2021 to help fill a need for temporary accommodation in the area.

'Really nice'

At the time North Northamptonshire Council said they were block booking the hotel until March 2022.

The Housing Network said the landlord was selling the building, which needs significant repairs

Rhys and Maxine, who did not want to give their full names, have been living in the hostel for the past week.

They said: "We had some problems being homeless and the council put us here.

"We don't have a timeframe for how long we'll be here. We've been told the building is closing down at the end of March.

"The staff are really nice and we've got all the facilities we need."

The managing director of the Housing Network, Gary Teper, said: "The property needs significant investment to get it to the standard we would like and the landlord has decided to sell the property."

He said it would mean the hostel "will unfortunately be closing at the end of March".

Jason Smithers, the Conservative leader of North Northamptonshire Council, said the authority was "working hard to make arrangements for alternative accommodation for all residents in preparation for the closure".

He said the council had "made direct contact to offer reassurance and have provided contact details should they need immediate support".