Kingston Council says it is boosting the supply of homes in the borough by purchasing 50 properties to be used as temporary accommodation and building homes for vulnerable residents.

The corporate resources committee (23 July) agreed plans to buy 50 homes as temporary accommodation, to reduce the council's reliance on expensive nightly-paid hotels and bed and breakfasts. 

There are currently around 970 homeless households in the borough, who the council has a legal duty to support.

The costs to the council are significant - in 2023/24 the bill for temporary accommodation was £9.3 million net, and this is forecast to rise again this year. 

Portfolio holder for finance Cllr Richard Thorpe said the plans would "save a substantial amount of money" and "better support vulnerable families".

"This is fantastic news," he said.

"Our proposal to buy 50 homes to use as temporary accommodation has the potential to save the borough up to £750,000 a year by reducing our reliance on nightly-paid accommodation.

"This will deliver better value for money for residents, as well as more appropriate self contained housing for homeless families.

"We have worked closely with landlords, hotels and bed and breakfasts to supplement our housing supply, to ensure we meet our statutory duty to support homeless people, and we are grateful for their partnership. But with the homelessness crisis across London continuing to be one of the biggest challenges facing local government, we have to find more cost effective ways to meet the needs of these vulnerable people.

"The proposal to purchase properties is part of the council's comprehensive plan to create a fairer borough, supporting vulnerable residents while also addressing the financial challenges we face."

The council has also been working with community stakeholders and a design team to bring forward revised proposals to redevelop a former care home on Acre Road in Kingston. The scheme will deliver 45 new council homes for older people and those living with learning disabilities.

Alongside this, the redevelopment of the Cambridge Road Estate will deliver 2,170 homes for people in the borough. At the start of this year the council secured grant funding from the GLA to deliver an additional 104 new council homes in phase one of the regeneration programme, with the first homes due to be completed later this year. 

This increases the number of new council homes available for rent in the initial phase of the redevelopment to 254 - and a total of 871 council homes once all five phases of the regeneration are complete. 

In addition, through the small sites programme, the council is delivering 101 new council homes across four sites in the borough. Families have already moved into their new homes at Arun House in Kingston and York Way in Chessington. The two remaining sites, Cumberland House and Roupell House, are expected to be completed by the end of this year.