
Suffolk councils to buy properties in bid to combat homelessness
Local authorities have the responsibility of finding accommodation for people at risk of homelessness.A report in March said the the authorities supported 158 households with temporary accommodation and had been spending a combined £70,000 a month on hotels and B&Bs.Mid Suffolk District Council said demand for temporary housing nearly doubled between 2020 and 2024 while Babergh has seen an increase of 69% in the same period.Mid Suffolk has put aside £2m of capital funding, and it has £950,000 will come from the government's Local Authority Housing Fund, says the Local Democracy Reporting Service.Babergh has just over £1m from the same fund to spend.
Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


BBC News
28 minutes ago
- BBC News
Northwich: Hundred lorries a day to dump waste at solar farm site
Hundreds more lorries could be travelling on residential and rural streets in Cheshire as part of a scheme to build a new solar Infinis plans to use construction industry waste to fill in lime pits on the site near Northwich, then build the green energy scheme on the levelled than 100 lorries a day could come and go from the site, at Wallerscote, with one resident describing the anticipated increase in traffic as "ridiculous".Infinis said the issues been raised previously, and had been considered again before the project was given approval on appeal. The site, off Winnington Road, is 56 hectares and was previously used to store waste from nearby chemical manufacturing in the beds and then constructing the scheme could take up to five years. The scheme was originally refused planning permission by Cheshire West and Chester Council in council's reason for refusal was around the movement of HGVs and said that the proposal "had not satisfactorily demonstrated that the additional traffic could be safely and satisfactorily accommodated within the highway network, or that satisfactorily arrangements could be made to accommodate this additional traffic".Overturning the decision, the planning inspectorate found the impact of the scheme "would not create a significant effect on the highway network". Linda Scott, who lives near to the entrance to the site, said: "At first I thought I was being a Nimby and thinking it was just me it was affecting but then after reading all of the objections, over 100 of them, I realised that it affects the whole of Northwich."Steve Jones, who lives on a road on which up to 200 HGV trips would be made daily, said: "The inspector says it'll blend in with the local traffic. Two hundred lorries, blending in with the existing traffic? It's ridiculous," he Scott added that she and the other residents felt "really let down".Mr Jones said there were "good, sound objections" to the scheme and the inspector had "dismissed them all"."The councillors stood up and said, 'no, this project is bad for the area and bad for the people in the area', and it's good that the council did that."But it does feel like the next stage of the process is about 'no, sorry that you might not want it but we've decided in the greater national interest it'll go ahead'," he the plans, half of the traffic would travel away from the site via the Winnington Bridge, a grade-II listed swing bridge, and the remainder would go through Northwich town centre. Arthur Neil, a Labour councillor on Cheshire West and Chester Council, said 200 lorry trips a day "may not sound a lot to the inspector, but if you live here on these narrow roads and with poor infrastructure, then it is a lot".The council had applied for Levelling Up Funding for the bridge, but this was rejected by the previous Callagher, from Northwich Town Council, said the authority was in favour of green energy."We are not against solar energy, we're not against a solar farm here," she said."But what we are objecting to is all the truck movement and the impact it'll have on the local community."The site is owned by Tata Chemicals, with developer Infinis putting forward the said the majority of its existing solar sites were on former brownfield sites, "demonstrating our experience and commitment to constructing the Wallerscote site".It said it had "worked extensively" with the local community throughout the process."The concerns had previously been raised and considered again by the Planning Inspectorate ahead of consent being granted for the project." Read more stories from Cheshire on the BBC and follow BBC North West on X. For more local politics coverage, BBC Politics North West is on BBC One on Sunday at 10:00am and on BBC iPlayer.


Times
30 minutes ago
- Times
Britain wants 1.5m new homes. First we need the builders — lots of them
T he government has set the 'ambitious' target of the construction industry recruiting an additional 100,000 workers a year by 2029, attempting to crack the skills crisis and get Britain building. The goal was welcomed by an industry that typically only recruits 200,000 people and loses 210,000 a year, many to retirement. However, the target has also raised a few eyebrows. Katie O'Cearbhaill, co-founder of Bedfordshire-based Excelsior Land, a builder of affordable and sustainable housing, said: 'The objective is a tremendous endeavour that would make a real difference. My initial thoughts are that it's an ambitious target, recruiting 100,000 per annum to the construction industry, and this will need a clear strategy, and we will need to see results quickly, which is something government bodies are not famous for delivering.'


BBC News
30 minutes ago
- BBC News
Homes plan for historic shoe factory in Northampton site delayed
Plans for a new housing development on the derelict site of a Grade II listed factory have been would have seen 97 houses and apartments built at the old Bective Works shoe and boot factory in Kingsthorpe, Northamptonshire Council approved the plans in November 2023 but now developers have removed some of the conditions attached to that Parish Council said it was informed of the planning applications last week and a decision was due in September. The main building, which dates back to 1902, would be refurbished and others in the area demolished under the application submitted to West Northamptonshire Council has asked for the "discharge of conditions" including noise, asbestos control and "mitigations for bats".Planning documents said comments can be made on the application until 22 to Historic England the building was "one of the first single-storey boot and shoe factories".It also said it is one of the few built before World War One to survive. Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.