Transforming under-used land into emergency housing
Plans have been submitted to turn an under-used car park into some much-needed emergency housing accommodation for homeless families.
Adur District Council is keen to turn South Street car park in Lancing into seven homes made up of five terraced and two semi-detached properties with gardens, for families to stay in while they are looking for a permanent home.
The Council is facing increasing demand for temporary and emergency housing accommodation and the Adur Housing Strategy outlines the need for more homes of all types in the area.
Cllr Carson Albury, Adur’s Cabinet Member for Adur Homes and Customer Services, said: “This is an incredibly exciting project that will see a car park that is under-used and therefore largely redundant transformed into accommodation for families who desperately need high-quality housing.
“There are people in Adur who need emergency housing and we are keen to utilise the small sites that are currently being under-used across the area to provide residents with quality new housing without the need to build on greenfield land.”
Funding the project and inviting residents to have their say
The South Street project is estimated to cost £2.1m but is projected to save the Council more than £4m in the long-term, by reducing the need for it to pay for bed and breakfast accommodation for residents without somewhere to stay.
The Council is applying for funding from Homes England to cover approximately one fifth of the development’s cost, with the remainder to be paid for from the Council’s general fund as part of a “spend to save” initiative.
Residents and businesses close to the car park have been consulted about the proposals ahead of the planning application being submitted this week.
The Council also invited residents to have their say on the plans and held a drop-in session at St Michael and All Angels Church in South Street, Lancing, last July.
If the plans are approved then work could start in the summer. The public can comment on the plans by visiting Adur & Worthing Councils’ planning application pages. (ref: AWDM/0118/23).
