Abbeyfield House in Hadleigh to be reopened as homeless hostel
A former care home is to be reopened as a homeless hostel after plans were approved.Blueprints showed 19 rooms would be made available for the temporary accommodation at Abbeyfield House in Hadleigh, Essex.It came despite concerns brought to Castle Point Borough Council about overcrowding and security at the site in Chapel Lane.Planning officer Sarah Williamson said it was a "cost-effective" method of meeting housing demands.
Independent councillor Kate Knott said the authority had to act before it lost the property, but admitted there had been "mixed views" about the plan.The building was constructed in 1983 for sheltered housing, a report served to the development management committee showed.Homeless people would have access to a kitchen, shower and a bed in their rooms once it was converted.
'Too little care'
But a resident, who only gave her name as Ms Johnson, said the design was "flawed" and unsafe."Crucially, we still don't know how many people are intended to live here," she said, as she called for 24-hour security on-site."The plan tries to do too much, too fast, with too little care."Ms Williamson said there would be staff present at the building and insisted CCTV would be "regularly monitored".She said the council was unable to meet its housing targets for homeless people as things stood."The proposal, if permitted, would meet this housing need in a more supported, sustainable and cost-effective way," Ms Williamson told the meeting."Potential residents would be assessed for numerous risk factors, and those with a chequered past or additional needs would be placed in specialised units and not at this location."
Follow Essex 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
14 minutes ago
- BBC News
Wales' papers: Hospital disrepair and tunnel blaze visit
Copyright 2025 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
British nationals' remains are among the unidentified more than a week after Air India crash as death toll continues to climb
The remains of four UK nationals from doomed Air India flight 171 have yet to be identified, more than a week after the crash. There were 53 Britons onboard the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner that crashed shortly after taking off from the western Indian city of Ahmedabad on June 12. The remains of 26 victims have so far been flown to their families, including 10 to the United Kingdom. All but one of the 242 people on board flight 171 were killed when the Air India plane smashed into a residential area of Ahmedabad, where at least 38 more died. Such was the level of destruction that more than two dozen believed killed remain unidentified 10 days after the jet came down. So far more than 250 people killed in an India plane crash have been identified through DNA testing, a hospital official said Sunday as specialists near a final toll for one of the worst air disasters in decades. 'The results of the DNA sample matches for 251 have arrived,' said Rakesh Joshi, medical superintendent at Ahmedabad's civil hospital. The remains of 245 of them have been handed to relatives and include 176 Indians, 49 British, seven Portuguese, one Canadian, and 12 identified publicly only as non-passengers. 'In my opinion, the DNA matching process will soon be completed,' Joshi said in a video message. 'We are with the remaining families who will be informed by phone as soon as possible,' he added. Air India said Thursday the plane was 'well-maintained' and that the pilots were accomplished flyers. Investigators have retrieved the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder for analysis, as they attempt to find out what caused the London-bound jet to hurtle to the ground moments after takeoff. British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40 from Leicester, was named as the sole survivor of the crash. He was discharged from hospital to be a pallbearer at the funeral of his brother. Survivor Vishwash's brother Ajaykumar accompanied him on the flight but was sat on the other side of the aisle in seat 11J and sadly perished in the explosion Relations of the 53 Britons on board have since paid tribute to the nurses, teachers, lovers, parents, children and friends whose lives were tragically cut short last week. Vishwash's brother Ajaykumar who accompanied him on the flight and was sat on the other side of the aisle in seat 11J, but sadly perished Fiongal Greenlaw-Meek and husband Jamie lived in London and ran a wellness and healthy lifestyle company. The couple posted a haunting video of themselves at the airport waiting to board the doomed Gatwick-bound Air India flight that crashed moments after it took off. The couple are believed to have been in India for around two weeks and in a series of social media posts captured the happy time they had. This included getting henna tattoos, shopping for fine fabrics and other gifts and driving through chaotic traffic in a tuk-tuk. They arrived in Ahmedabad just a day before flying back with Fiongal posting in a video: 'So, it's our last night in India and we've had a magical experience. 'Some mind-blowing things have happened. We are going to put all this together and create a vlog. It's my first ever vlog about the whole trip and we want to share it.' Jamie revealed what a memorable trip they had both had. He beamed: 'We have been on quite a journey and then spending our last night here in this beautiful hotel, it's really been great way to round off the trip.' Other victims include Arjun Patoliya, from Edgeware in London, who had travelled to India to fulfil his late wife's final wishes, scattering her ashes in a river in the village where they both grew up. Bharatiben Patel, known as Bharti, 43, had died just three weeks before the crash. Their two children, aged four and eight, were left orphaned after Mr Patoliya was killed. Mr Patoliya had studied at Liverpool John Moores University and worked as a furniture designer. Witnesses of the deadly crash could do nothing but watch in horror as a fireball, fuelled by enough kerosene to carry a plane from the Indian city of Ahmedabad to London Gatwick on a non-stop nine hour and 50 minute journey, towered above them. As plumes of acrid, black smoke billowed above Ahmedabad, horror spread across the city after people realised that a plane had crashed into the dense residential area of Meghani Naga, less than a minute after taking off from a nearby airport. That horror quickly spread around the world, with the crash making headlines globally.
BBC News
3 hours ago
- BBC News
Service held for WW2 British soldier killed in Alderney
A memorial service has been held for the only British serviceman to die on active duty in Alderney during World War Two, 80 years 40 people attended the service on Saturday, at Sapper George Onions' grave in St Anne's church cemetery, on the island. The Royal Engineer died on his 22nd birthday on 21 June 1945 while clearing the island of mines after the German Occupation. The service, led by Reverend David Stretton, included wreath laying by States of Alderney president William Tate, schoolchildren and reservists from the Guernsey section of the Jersey Field Squadron. A simple service is held annually to remember Sapper Onions, who was born in Tunstall, is believed he died while unloading a lorry carrying supposedly decommissioned mines and detonators, one of which accidentally organisers, Alderney Churches Together said Sapper Onions is remembered with affection for both his service and his engagement with the local community.
