Thanet council has been allocated £1.19m of government funding towards the purchase of nine properties to temporarily accommodate Ukrainian and Afghan refugees.
Cabinet members at Thanet District Council are to consider a report into the allocation of funding through the Local Authority Housing Fund (LAHF) at their meeting on Thursday 15 June.
If approved, the council will have to provide match funding of £1.996m. This will be come from the council’s housing capital programme and the cost will be covered from the rent paid by tenants.
The homes will be newly built and bought by the council from a developer. The homes must be purchased by November 2023 and the council says it will not impact on the council’s existing approved new build programme.
It is expected that in the long term, the homes will be re-let to people on the council’s housing register.
The funding is part of a national £500 million scheme to enable local authorities to purchase properties in their area to accommodate both Ukrainian and Afghan refugee households for an initial period of 3 years. The funding allocation – which covers around 40% of the cost- was offered to 182 local authorities in England, who were deemed to have the greatest need.
Cllr Helen Whitehead, Deputy Leader and Cabinet member for Housing, said: “As a council we face significant challenges in provision, but we continue to do our best to rise to those challenges. We have a significant need for social and genuinely affordable homes and will work to secure funding for this.
“Accommodation for all vulnerable members of society needs to be prioritised, and although further funding is needed, it is essential to use all potential funding to support all residents.
“Support from the Local Authority Housing Fund will allow us to provide homes urgently needed for refugee families. Once no longer needed by these families, the homes will become part of our social housing stock, which continues to be in high demand in the district.
“This support is in addition to our approved building programme; we will continue to support our vulnerable residents, and provide social and genuinely affordable housing for those who need it, as part of a new, ambitious and determined approach to social housing for Thanet.”
Discussions have taken place with a developer currently building at a site near Westwood Cross with the aim of buying 6 x 3 bed units and 3 x 4 bed units. The properties are nearing completion and will be ready by the end of this month.
Those eligible for the homes will be people who are homeless, at risk of homelessness or who live in unsuitable Temporary Accommodation (including bridging accommodation) and who also are part of one of the below:
- Afghan Citizen Resettlement Scheme (including eligible British Nationals under this scheme) (ACRS),
- Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP),
- Ukraine Family Scheme (UFS),
- Homes for Ukraine (HFU),
- Ukraine Extension Scheme (UES)
