Chichester District Council to contribute towards cost of buying more temporary housing

The money, which will be added to a £1.6m grant from the government’s Local Authority Housing Fund (LAHF), was approved during a meeting on Tuesday (May 19).

The aim of the LAHF is to reduce the use of expensive nightly paid accommodation such as bed & breakfast for families in need – and also to provide settled housing for Afghan families being supported through the Afghan Resettlement Programme.

To receive the grant, the council has to deliver both parts – four homes for temporary accommodation and four for the resettlement programme.

Since 2023/24, the council has receive more than £4m from the fund across three rounds of grants.

The first round was solely to provide accommodation for those fleeing the war in Ukraine and Afghanistan. The second was for the Afghan Resettlement Programme, and the third provided both temporary accommodation and resettlement units.

A total of 26 homes have been bought – but the need for temporary housing is not small. Oona Hickson, cabinet member for housing, told the meeting that the council had 79 units of temporary accommodation, but was also having to pay for 100 households to stay in bed & breakfast or hotels.