Subscribe to trusted local news
If you are accessing this story via Facebook but you are a subscriber then you will be unable to access the story. Facebook wants you to stay and read in the app and your login details are not shared with Facebook. If you experience problems with accessing the news but have subscribed, please contact subscriptions@thestrayferret.co.uk. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.
- Subscription costs less than £1 a week with an annual plan.
Already a subscriber? Log in here.
24
Dec 2020
Harrogate homeless shelters 'appropriate and comfortable'
Harrogate Borough Council has defended its temporary homeless shelters after some people raised concerns about their use.
The four yellow container units will be in Tower Street car park in Harrogate for the next three months.
Every local authority is expected to adopt a severe weather emergency protocol, which describes measures to provide emergency accommodation for rough sleepers during severe weather.
Cllr Mike Chambers, the cabinet member for housing and safer communities, told the Stray Ferret:
Read more:
- Harrogate council creates temporary homeless shelters
- Strayside Sunday: We are treating the homeless as human cargo
New government guidance this year warned of the dangers of coronavirus in night shelters. It also asked local authorities to consider “self-contained accommodation options”.
According to council figures, 29 rough sleepers in the district were taken off the streets during the "Everyone's In" measures in the first lockdown, of which 10 are still being supported by the authority.
When the Stray Ferret reported that the council had installed these shelters it prompted a diverse range of views from our readers.
Some said they were "excellent" and a "good stop gap"; others argued they "looked horrendous" and suggested using other solutions, such as hotels.
Harrogate Borough Council said at the start of December the containers will be in place for three months.
0