Somerset homes to be bought by council for refugees

Somerset Council has been given £3.5m of government funding for the homes

More than 30 homes are being bought for Ukrainian and Afghan refugees in Somerset.

Somerset Council has been provided with £3.5m of government funding which it is using to buy 31 properties.

The homes will be re-let to people on the council's housing list once the refugees have left or relocated to a different part of the country.

The council said 10 homes have been bought so far. A further nine homes are in the process of being bought.

The government's local authority housing fund (LAHF) provides capital funding to local councils, allowing them to purchase accommodation for refugees coming to the UK under official resettlement schemes, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The funding was confirmed in a report which came before the council's tenants' strategic group when it met in Taunton on 22 January.

'Urban areas'

"The homes are 100% funded by the LAHF and other subsidy available to the council," a council spokesperson said.

"The 31 properties across Somerset are predominantly in the urban areas of the larger settlements. We can't provide precise locations for security reasons.

"The majority of homes are houses with only a small number being flats.

"These families can continue to live in these homes until such time as they choose to move or their right to remain in the UK changes."

The council is currently constructing new social housing within Taunton, as part of its flagship North Taunton Woolaway regeneration programme, and at Seaward Way in Minehead.

Each completed property within these sites will be offered via Homefinder with priority being given to people with a strong connection to the local area.

A spokesman said: "We will complete construction of 47 new homes in Taunton and eight in Minehead by early-April.

"Homes in Sedgemoor has forecast another 55 new home completions for the same period."