Council spending close to £500,000 as homeless are put up in hotels including the Whately Hall in Banbury

Cherwell District Council has negotiated block booking for hotel rooms, including 15 double and family rooms in the Whately Hall, Banbury, to meet its duty to house those who are homeless.

Those who fall into the category of homeless include individuals and families who have been evicted from their rental properties due to increasing rents.

Cherwell has provided 222 placements (homes or temporary housing) from last April to January 2025. In the last financial year (from April) the council has spent £332,800 on homelessness.

A Freedom of Information response shows that Cherwell began an ongoing contract last August with the Whately Hall for 11 double rooms and four family rooms at a cost of just under £100,000 every three months.

A spokesman said: "The council has clients placed at the Whately Hall currently to meet its homelessness duties. The council will carry out necessary procurement processes when contracts reach their end to ensure the best service and value for money is provided.

"We aim to accommodate all households within the district and use a variety of hotels depending on local demand. The numbers of people in temporary accommodation change on a daily basis.”

Cherwell works with the other councils in Oxfordshire, and the Integrated Care Board (regional NHS), to manage homelessness. They offer help to prevent homelessness and supported accommodation should homelessness be unavoidable.

"The council works closely with local charities such as The Beacon Centre in Banbury, Turning Point, local searches and the Salvation Army who provide drop-in centres for single homeless clients,” said a spokesman.

"Our officers regularly attend these centres to provide ongoing housing advice and support to those who have difficulty in engaging with professionals.”

The council commissions Citizens Advice to provide specialist support to those with money and budgeting issues and to help clients through any court proceedings associated with homelessness.

The council has employed three Tenancy Sustainment Officers who support households threatened with homelessness. They work alongside tenants and landlords to try and save tenancies whenever possible and keep people in their homes.

The council also works closely with Oxfordshire County Council Social Care to support families who may be threatened with homelessness.

Homeless legislation requires the council to prioritise pregnant women, those with children, victims of domestic abuse, the elderly, those with mental illness, or a learning/physical disability, those aged 16 or 17 and care leavers under 21.

The categories with a priority need for temporary accommodation continue with whose who are vulnerable through being a former serviceman or woman, as a result of being in prison, due to threats of violence or those who are homeless due to flood, fire or other disaster. In order to permanently rehouse the homeless, the council relies mainly on the district’s social housing stock. Its housing priority list has been changed to include the homeless.

Social housing built for rent is allocated by the council through the housing register, so the more the social housing that is built, the more homes there are for people prioritised for housing.

The Cherwell Local Plan requires 30-35% of homes built on larger sites to be ‘affordable housing’ which includes rented and low-cost home ownership.

“We also assist households into private rented accommodation by helping with deposits and rent in advance where clients are threatened with or are homeless,” the spokesman said.

Homeless people on social media describe being moved from travel lodge to motel, often for months until they are allocated even a temporary one-bedroom flat. Government figures show that nearly half (47%) of families in temporary accommodation have been there for two years or longer.

There are many reasons people become homeless – some because of relationship or family breakdown or domestic violence. Some are unable to manage rents which are rising steeply.

Cherwell’s housing strategy explains that the median rental cost per month for a property in Cherwell is £975 (some lower, some higher). This is higher than the overall national and South East rates. Rents in Cherwell rose over 11% over the previous three years, which is a faster acceleration than rents across the county.

The private rented sector locally is described as a ‘challenging market’. There is a high demand for accommodation and a buoyant market, therefore, those on the lowest incomes face the greatest challenges in accessing private rental homes.

Expensive properties in Oxford have pushed up prices in the north of the county, particularly Kidlington and Bicester where competition is high for properties, and this influences prices.

Bicester due to its expansion, improving transport links and associated employment opportunities has seen a greater acceleration in housing market and prices than in Banbury, for example. Bicester therefore has acute affordability challenges within the private rental market.

There are routinely more than 10 people sleeping rough within Cherwell on a single night and this number has risen over the last two years by a third. Cherwell has also seen an increasing trend of those in employment rough sleeping.

The rough sleeping snapshot nationally shows a national increase of 27% between 2022 and 2023 in rough sleeping numbers, to 3898. As these are based on known rough sleepers, the actual number is likely to be higher.

There has also been an increase in people who are homeless, a rise in 14% in the same period, meaning 309,000 or 1 in 182 people are homeless in England. (source, Shelter and Crisis)

Homelessness and rough sleeping, combined with the lack of supply, has a knock-on effect on people in temporary accommodation and how long they spend within it.