Latest news with #GrahamMerfield
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Site for two emergency homeless shelters secured
A site to house homeless shelter pods has been found, the chairman of a charity has confirmed. Caritas said it had been aiming to provide immediate shelter for those with nowhere safe to sleep and no other housing options. The States revealed there were more than 60 people on an urgent waiting list for housing - one islander recently said she was "extremely lucky to live in a garden shed" when she had nowhere else to go. Chairman Graham Merfield said the charity had secured a site to place two pods, subject to planning approval. He said: "We are now working through the planning process and the planning team are being very helpful in helping us through that. "We're anticipating our application will go in over the next weeks and our goal is to have the first two pods here for next winter, which would be September, October time." More news stories for Guernsey Listen to the latest news for Guernsey Mr Merfield said the sleeping pods had a bed, a chemical toilet, a charging point but no plumbing and were "for emergency use only" to house one person at a time. He said: "Those pods are really intended for the people who are really in desperate need of accommodation. They're not intended to be temporary accommodation. "Our longer term goal is to build a community of modular homes to address the need for temporary accommodation." The charity said it still aimed to provide modular homes, or "tiny homes", which would have a sitting area, bathroom, kitchen, bedroom and plumbing. Following the recent Guernsey general election, the new president of the island's housing committee, Deputy Steve Williams, said he wanted to get spades in the ground and hundreds of homes under construction within his first year. Mr Merfield said the charity were "cautiously optimistic" by what had been promised so far. He said: "We've already had some positive dialogue with some of the new deputies and we're looking forward to meeting with the new housing committee under Steve Williams' leadership. "I think having the responsibility for housing under one committee rather than spread across numerous committees should bring what I think they're terming a 'laser focus' onto the housing issue. "Clearly, we need see what they can do both in the short term and the longer term to address the urgent needs and the longer-term needs of more affordable accommodation in the community." Follow BBC Guernsey on X and Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to 'I was extremely lucky to live in a garden shed' Charity seeks site for emergency sleeping pods Charity seeks land to tackle island homelessness Caritas Guernsey
BBC News
15-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Site for two emergency homeless shelters secured, charity says
A site to house homeless shelter pods has been found, the chairman of a charity has said it had been aiming to provide immediate shelter for those with nowhere safe to sleep and no other housing States revealed there were more than 60 people on an urgent waiting list for housing - one islander recently said she was "extremely lucky to live in a garden shed" when she had nowhere else to Graham Merfield said the charity had secured a site to place two pods, subject to planning approval. He said: "We are now working through the planning process and the planning team are being very helpful in helping us through that. "We're anticipating our application will go in over the next weeks and our goal is to have the first two pods here for next winter, which would be September, October time." Mr Merfield said the sleeping pods had a bed, a chemical toilet, a charging point but no plumbing and were "for emergency use only" to house one person at a said: "Those pods are really intended for the people who are really in desperate need of accommodation. They're not intended to be temporary accommodation."Our longer term goal is to build a community of modular homes to address the need for temporary accommodation."The charity said it still aimed to provide modular homes, or "tiny homes", which would have a sitting area, bathroom, kitchen, bedroom and plumbing. 'Cautiously optimistic' Following the recent Guernsey general election, the new president of the island's housing committee, Deputy Steve Williams, said he wanted to get spades in the ground and hundreds of homes under construction within his first Merfield said the charity were "cautiously optimistic" by what had been promised so said: "We've already had some positive dialogue with some of the new deputies and we're looking forward to meeting with the new housing committee under Steve Williams' leadership. "I think having the responsibility for housing under one committee rather than spread across numerous committees should bring what I think they're terming a 'laser focus' onto the housing issue."Clearly, we need see what they can do both in the short term and the longer term to address the urgent needs and the longer-term needs of more affordable accommodation in the community."
BBC News
17-04-2025
- General
- BBC News
Guernsey charity seeks temporary site for emergency sleeping pods
A charity for homeless people in Guernsey is urgently seeking a temporary site for emergency sleeping said it wanted to provide immediate shelter for those with nowhere safe to sleep while it tried to secure land for larger sleeping pods, designed by UK charity Amazing Grace Spaces, have been used in cities such as Sheffield to provide secure, warm shelter for people with no other housing options. Each pod includes solar panels, lighting, a phone charging point and a chemical toilet. In 2023, as part of its Indicators of Poverty report, the States of Guernsey estimated more than 1,000 men, women and children were insecurely housed - an increase of about 50% since chairman Graham Merfield said: "Since launching our modular community project last September, we've been contacted throughout the winter by individuals with nowhere safe to sleep."This practical initiative aims to provide short-term emergency accommodation for those with no alternative."
