22 INSIGHTS
Addressing a national problem SITE LINES
Nicolas Maari of multi-disciplinary firm Pellings looks at the challenges for designers around providing interim accommodation for the homeless
H
omelessness is an ongoing and growing problem, with the number of homeless people increasing by a third between 2012 and 2018. There are at least 320,000 homeless
people in the UK, according to research by housing charity Shelter. Since the Homelessness Reduction Act came into force in April 2018 councils in England have a legal duty to find a person somewhere to stay if they are homeless and a duty to help people at risk of losing their home. However, despite this, there are increasingly more people sleeping rough on our streets, which means the need for housing continues to grow. In particular, there is a big demand for interim accommodation (an alternative to B&B’s, hostels and nightly-paid private housing) that offers a lower cost, and better-quality option.
Over the past year we’ve seen a rise in requests to work on projects for this vulnerable demographic. While there is widespread public support for getting homeless people into suitable accommodation, a number of challenges around design and planning, as well as objections from the local community, continue to present themselves.
The crux of the problem is around planning consent. While councils are trying to tackle the issue of interim homes for the
If asked what advice I would give to another architect when designing for interim accommodation for the homeless, the main thing would be to remember that we are not trying to achieve award- winning architecture. We are trying to solve a problem
homeless, there is no suitable planning class for this type of housing. HMO housing standards or general needs housing do not fit this category, which means there is a lack of planning guidance and usually no real precedent. Progress therefore, is largely down to the discretion of the planner. This makes the job of an architect a tricky one, but what makes the situation sadder is that planning issues can often stall the build over a long period, meaning more people remain homeless, thus exacerbating the problem.
HERTFORDSHIRE Pellings is acting as architects up to planning and then as employer’s agent for 74 new temporary accommodation units in a conservation area
WWW.ARCHITECTSDATAFILE.CO.UK
ADF FEBRUARY 2020
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