Section 106 contributions from housebuilders delivering the Halsnead Garden Village development will help provide temporary accommodation for homeless households in Knowsley.

An allocation of £1.4m secured from developers by Knowsley Council will be used to fund the purchase of private sector residential properties and re-purpose existing vacant Council-owned assets to provide more homeless temporary accommodation within the borough.

The investment has been approved by the Council’s Cabinet.

Over the past six years, demand for temporary accommodation has increased considerably. As at 29 October 2024, there were 89 Knowsley households in temporary accommodation.

In response to the rising demand, the Council has increased its temporary accommodation provision by purchasing and leasing private residential properties. This has led to an 18% reduction in the use of hotel provision and improved the experience for households experiencing homelessness crises.

In September 2023, the Cabinet allocated £1m of funding to purchase residential properties alongside the refurbishment/re-purposing of existing vacant Council-owned assets for the purpose of providing homeless temporary accommodation. Alongside existing allocated Strategic Housing resources and funding received through the Government’s Local Authority Housing Fund, a budget of £1.402m was available at the start of 2024/25 for these purposes.

The increased investment has funded an increase in the number of Council-owned temporary accommodation properties from 63 to 81. With the increased funding the Council has proposed increasing this provision to over 100 units.

Cllr Tony Brennan, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economic Development, said: “This funding secured from Section 106 developer contributions will support the re-purposing of existing Council assets and the purchase of private sector residential homes for temporary accommodation. This successful approach has already led to a reduced reliance on our use of hotel provision but, unfortunately, homeless demand continues to exceed our provision and we need to do more.

“This investment will have a positive long-term impact on Council finances by reducing the need to use hotel provision, the cost of which exceeds the level of Government subsidy, resulting in this cost having to be met from Council resources. More importantly it will improve the experience of homeless households during their housing crises.”

You can read the full Cabinet report here.