An empty office building in Worthing town centre is to be converted into much-needed homes for locals currently being housed outside the borough.
Worthing Borough Council said its staff and contractors will convert the offices it owns at 24 Marine Place into five one-bedroom and studio flats for local residents, who would otherwise continue to be housed elsewhere at greater expense.
Officials claim that substantially more than 200 households from the town are currently having to be housed away from Worthing because of a severe shortage of social housing in the borough.
While some are staying in flats or houses in other parts of West Sussex, some are having to be housed outside the county — many miles away from their jobs, their children’s schools and their families and friends.
An increasing number of people are reportedly coming to the council for help because there is no space for them with relatives or friends, or because they have been evicted by landlords wanting to increase their rent or to sell their homes.
Council staff say they are looking for sites across the borough where the local authority can build its own temporary accommodation.
They are also searching for privately-owned local properties that could be used to house these residents plus other members of the community who are on its housing list.
Cllr Emma Taylor-Beal, Worthing’s cabinet member for housing and citizen services, said:
"Too many local people currently have to be housed outside the borough, sometimes hundreds of miles away.
"That can make it difficult for them to maintain a long-term job, makes it more difficult for them to get support from their family and friends and affects their physical and mental health.
"By creating more homes for Worthing people who need them, we can ensure no one in our community is left behind."
The council has set aside up to £1.1m for the Marine Place project but hopes that a proportion of the cost will be paid for by Homes England, the national agency that funds the construction of new affordable housing.
It costs the council an average of £9,150 a year for every household in temporary or emergency accommodation and this price continues to rise.
The authority believes that placing five people in the Marine Place flats could save the council more than £45,000 per year, as well as giving the citizens a more stable environment to live in.
Worthing has been able to secure funding from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to support housing initiatives because of the number of people with complex needs in the borough who have nowhere to live.
The council is working with housing association Worthing Homes, homelessness charity Turning Tides and Homes England to create 21 much-needed apartments in Ivy Arch Road to prevent people having to sleep rough.
It also intends to sign an agreement to house 37 local people in George V Avenue and Goring Road in Worthing and at a property in High Street, Littlehampton.
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