Newham Accused of Dumping Homeless Families

Newham’s attempt to find temporary housing has caused problems for councils outside the capital. Various publications have alighted on the agreement Newham has with regard to Anchorage House in Chatham, Kent. 

In a refrain that will be familiar, Newham stands accused of dumping its problems on other councils, with the incumbent additional pressure on schools, health services and housing stock. The process, in which Newham is not alone, is pushing up prices of housing and the cost of rent outside the capital.

The Telegraph reported, “While Medway can afford to pay around £35 to £50 a night for temporary accommodation, London councils such as Newham can afford roughly double that – between £70 and £80 a night. That’s a difference of nearly £1,000 a month per flat, or £886,950 a year across the entire building”.

Anchorage House is an eleven-story converted office block in Chatham, with 81 flats set close to the town centre. 

The pressures of London boroughs seeking to outsource their temporary housing is now causing some local authorities to seek a change in the law. It's unlikely anytime soon, but it is clear that there is increasing tension between metropolitan and town and district councils.

We learned from the Telegraph again, that Newham has “an ambitious housing delivery programme underway in Newham to build over 6,500 new homes. And we have invested £100m to meet our statutory requirements in finding temporary accommodation for those most in need”.

We’d love to criticise Newham for this, but they are caught in a problem that is not entirely of their making. The UK population grew by 6 million in the last decade. In that time nearly 3.5m new homes were built. To compound the problem, the pressures are on major cities and the economic strength of the south east acts as a giant magnet. Although money has gone into social infrastructure, it has failed to keep up with an increased demand of a population that has grown by 16% in 20 years.

We say that there is nothing that they can do, but we may be wrong. One reader has sent in the following reflection, following his viewing of the Audit Committee meeting on-line.

“Watch the Audit Committee when Councillor Terrence Paul says to the director of housing "you have no idea who lives in our properties" - and note that the director does not disagree. Maybe if Newham actually knew who really lived in its 14000 properties, they might be able to kick out those who should not be there and use it for temporary housing... Newham should get the boring basics right and properly manage the homes; it has to make sure that the right people live there AND actually pay rent. Just an idea.”

We can only agree.

We will shortly be looking into the issue of Newham and temporary housing and just why it is that Newham appears to be an outlier.