Government funding to help reduce homelessness in Hastings

Hastings Borough Council has been awarded £5.4m by the government through the government's Single Homeless Accommodation Programme (SHAP) to help reduce homelessness in the borough by providing settled homes and personalised support where needed.

The funding will mean the council can buy at least 25 new homes in Hastings allowing people to move out of homelessness for good. There are already plans in place with offers in on properties and other properties identified.

Cllr Simon Willis, lead councillor for housing, said: "This funding is hugely welcomed, and it will allow us to provide much needed homes for some of our residents who face the most barriers to finding and maintaining a home. A safe, secure and stable place to call home is a fundamental right and we are very focussed on addressing our housing and homelessness issues in every way we can. I look forward to working with our excellent housing team to invest this money for the good of our most vulnerable residents."

The funding will be split between revenue to resource a housing management team and tenancy support service and the capital needed to buy and convert (where necessary) the properties to create the 25 homes.

Officers at Hastings Borough Council worked with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to put in the bid for funding to support the housing crisis in Hastings.

Read more detail on the SHAP.