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13
Sept
Council to agree first-ever homelessness and rough sleeping strategy
North Yorkshire Council is set to agree its first county-wide strategy for tackling homelessness and rough sleeping.
The five-year blueprint sets out the council’s vision of preventing homelessness and rough sleeping wherever possible – and where it cannot be prevented, to ensure it is rare, brief and does not reoccur.
The move comes as the authority spent £8.5 million tackling the issue last year, including £4.3 million on staffing costs, £2.7 million on temporary accommodation and £1.5 million on prevention.
The strategy, which is a legal requirement for local authorities, focuses on partnership working to ensure good quality and stable temporary and long-term housing is available.
Cllr Simon Myers, North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for housing, said:
Preventing homelessness and rough sleeping is a significant challenge, with the backdrop of rising housing costs, the need for more affordable housing, and the growing number of people with multiple and complex needs.
We are seeing increasing demand on our services given the rurality of North Yorkshire, the county’s ageing population and economic inequalities.
A huge amount of work is ongoing to expand our temporary accommodation offer, invest in new models of supported housing and strengthening our partnerships with the voluntary and community sector. These efforts have recently received praise on a national level.
We cannot afford to stand still, however, and this wide-reaching strategy – the first of its kind for North Yorkshire - is a collective call to action which reflects our belief that everyone deserves a place to call home and the support they need to keep it.
High demand
The draft strategy sets out the current state of homelessness and rough sleeping in North Yorkshire and outlines four key themes for the authority and its partners to focus on.
They include preventing homelessness, increasing the availability of suitable accommodation options, increasing the availability and access to support services, and reducing rough sleeping.
In 2024, the council approved £11.6 million in capital investment to support the development of additional temporary accommodation for the homeless.
According to the draft strategy, the council wants to reduce the number of people in temporary accommodation, such as bed and breakfasts, in order to offer a sustainable alternative.
It said:
The number of households in temporary accommodation is increasing, with demand being particularly strong in Scarborough and Harrogate.
Meanwhile, earlier this year, the authority became one of the first in the country to introduce a 100% premium for council tax bills on second homes.
The scheme is due to raise more than £10 million annually and will be used to tackle a range of housing issues, including building hundreds of new affordable homes, as well as securing additional temporary accommodation and supported housing.
Senior councillors will discuss the strategy at an executive meeting in Northallerton on September 16.
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