Cornwall's first short-term hub for homeless people opens
Chough House on River Street is the Duchy's first purpose designed facility
Cornwall's first purpose-designed 'Somewhere Safe to Stay Hub' is welcoming its first residents.
The former council office in Truro has been built to provide short term accommodation for those who are sleeping rough, or are at risk of doing so.
The hub provides nine rooms, with the scheme called by the local authority 'key' in reducing homelessness on the county's streets.
Chough House on River Street is the Duchy's first purpose designed facility, providing a safe, warm place to stay, replacing the ‘roving’ Somewhere Safe to Stay hub that previously operated in Cornwall.
Cornwall Council say residents are expected to remain at Chough House for between 3 and 10 days while they have their housing and other needs assessed, before moving on to more longer-term accommodation.
Olly Monk, Cornwall Council cabinet portfolio holder for housing and planning, said: “This is a fantastic project which will play a key role in reducing homelessness.
"Not only will it provide people who have been sleeping rough with a safe place to stay and support them on their path to permanent accommodation, it will also bring a vacant building back into a meaningful use for the local community.
“Now that the project is completed, the building ready to accommodate its first residents.”
The nine single-occupancy rooms span two floors, each containing an en-suite bathroom and kitchenette, with one of the ground floor rooms fully wheelchair accessible.
As part of the plans, there are also communal lounges and kitchens, which can be converted into extra emergency bed spaces at times of urgent need such as severe weather, as well as laundry facilities, meeting rooms and management space for staff to provide support and security 24/7.
The building has a new efficient air-source heating plant providing heating and hot water, with solar panels installed on the roof.
Interim Hub Manager Shirley Hilton and a team of six members of staff will be providing assistance to the residents.
Shirley said: “People will be referred to Chough House from across Cornwall through our rough sleeper access team.
“We know that people can suddenly find themselves homeless for a variety of reasons. Our aim is to get them off the streets as quickly as possible so they can move on with their lives and do not become entrenched rough sleepers.
“All our staff are fully trained in housing legislation and managing trauma and will be working with colleagues and partners to identify residents’ individual needs and help them to get their lives back on track.”
The building was originally the home of the mid-18th century Congregational Chapel before being rebuilt into a large school room in 1853.
This was then sold in 1932, and used as council offices until the 1980s before it was demolished.
Olly Monk added: “Delivering this project has been a real team effort.
“I would like to thank Truro City Council, the local members that have supported the project and other community stakeholders that have had a role in bringing this forward, as well as all the Cornwall Council staff who have worked so hard to complete the transformation.”
Tackling current housing pressures is a top priority for the Council.
As well as delivering schemes such as this, the authority say they are:
- Working to provide modular homes to provide temporary and emergency accommodation for local people
- Building more Council houses for local people to rent or buy
- Purchasing existing homes to use as social housing
- Supporting affordable homes provision by housing associations for local people to rent or buy
- Ensuring sites deliver affordable housing through the planning process
- Unlocking the potential for town centres to be regenerated so more houses can be provided
- Supporting community-led organisations that want to deliver their own homes
- Offering loans to bring empty homes back into use
- Enabling communities to stop new builds being snapped up by would be second homeowners