UPDATE: No More Placements At Troubled Homeless Accommodation In Newhaven

A controversial emergency housing block will no longer be used by Brighton and Hove City Council by the end of the month.

Just one person housed by the council is left in Kendal Court, in Newhaven, where at least 10 people died from 2016 to 2021.

The council stopped sending new tenants to Kendal Court in January after a threat of legal action from East Sussex County Council.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service revealed in December 2021 that the county council had threatened legal action against Brighton and Hove City Council.

The county council accused the city council of acting “unlawfully” by failing to assess people’s care needs properly and not accepting responsibility for people placed in Kendal Court.

The Conservative leader of East Sussex, Keith Glazier, said previously that Brighton and Hove was “outsourcing people to die in somebody else’s area”.

Independent councillor Nikkie Brennan, who represents East Brighton ward, said last December that Kendal Court should be closed because the council had failed in its duty under the Care Act after a death that month.

Green councillor Siriol Hugh-Jones, who co-chairs the Housing Committee in Brighton and Hove, said:

“We welcome that Brighton and Hove City Council will soon have ceased using the accommodation at Kendal Court, following a pause in placements initiated earlier this year.

“It is our ambition to reduce the numbers of out-of-area placements wherever possible although, as with many authorities with a high level of homelessness, it is sometimes necessary to use accommodation elsewhere.

“There may be limited circumstances in which those eligible for emergency accommodation may actively wish to be housed out of the area.

“However, for those with particular support needs, we believe that we are able to give those in emergency accommodation the best possible support when housed in Brighton and Hove.”

Labour councillor Gill Williams, who also represents East Brighton, said that lessons must be learnt from the deaths at Kendal Court.

She said:

“Lessons must be learnt from the tragic deaths of these vulnerable people and we must strive to provide appropriate support to avoid such deaths in the future.

“This is why it is important that local authorities are given adequate funding to enable us to provide high-quality services at the point of need.”

Conservative councillor Anne Meadows also raised concerns about vulnerable people being housed outside the area in a motion to the council last December.

She said:

“The September 2021 ‘Returning to Kendal Court’ independent report showed significant failings of the council in placing homeless and rough sleepers in accommodation without adequate support.

“This council was slow to react to the problems which have built up over many years, culminating in some very serious issues, including deaths.

“Now the council has abandoned Kendal Court, it needs to think about what it will replace it with and that will be a key piece of work that needs to happen quickly.”

Housing campaigner Daniel Harris said that he was disappointed to hear that just one family had moved out of the building since January, highlighting the 300 empty council homes listed in a council housing report.

He said:

“There is also the question of where these tenants will be placed/moved to after Kendal Court. Some are worried they will have suffered all of this for nothing and could find themselves back to square one.

“Many … have had to live around sheer chaos, seeing ambulances take people away in body bags and many other anti-social issues no one should have to endure. Many report their mental health has worsened since moving there.

“I hope the council find a bold new solution to this situation. Poor management has led to this, sadly, and that has cost lives.”

By the height of the pandemic, Brighton and Hove City Council had placed 314 households outside the area.

The council said that it was working hard to reduce the number of people in emergency accommodation outside the area and to bring them into long-term housing in Brighton and Hove.

The council said:

“We are continuing to support these residents. Welfare officers are maintaining their regular contact and their scheduled drop-in sessions.

“We will be developing a ‘move-on plan’ for each resident that is sensitive to and supportive of their individual requirements.

“We hope to bring more people currently in emergency accommodation outside Brighton and Hove back within the city as soon as possible.

“But the amount of accommodation we need overall remains much greater than we can currently provide within the city.

“Like many large councils facing housing pressures, it’s likely we will always need to use some emergency and temporary accommodation properties outside the city.”