Temporary accommodation for homeless Banbury families 'not suitable'

Surinder Dhesi, a former Labour councillor, said she had 'grave concerns' about the temporary accommodation offered to homeless families at the Musketeer Pub on Ruscote Avenue.

She told the Banbury Guardian: “It isn’t suitable for vulnerable homeless families who have very little money. There are no cooking facilities so it’s difficult for them to eat healthily, and no washing facilities. People are having to go to laundrettes but they are very expensive. I am told the units do not have a hoover each.

“These families should not be having to rely on microwave meals. Good health comes with decent housing and decent freshly cooked food.

“One woman who came to me has two children with disabilities and husband is not well. They were offered the rooms and initially refused it as it wasn't suitable for them. I’ve had other complaints too,” she said.

Mrs Dhesi said she thought there should be a ‘mystery shopper’ system where facilities for the homeless were tested anonymously.

A spokesman for the Musketeer said it was not involved with deciding the level of facilities available to homeless tenants which was a matter for Cherwell District Council which is responsible for the homeless.

“We just hand over the keys – the council does the rest," he said. “Any upgrading is up to the council. We just supply the rooms which are motel rooms. We couldn’t put cookers in because of fire regulations. You can’t even have a toaster in there because the smoke alarms would go off.

"There’s a contract between the brewery and the council to supply rooms 365 days a year but the council controls who lives there. They tell us when someone is leaving and we clean it and they then use it for someone else.”

A spokesperson for Cherwell District Council said: “We have a varied temporary accommodation portfolio; principally social housing units rented from Sanctuary Housing. When these are full, we have to use hotel rooms, including at the Musketeer. It is common for hotels not to include cooking facilities and laundrette type facilities, regardless of the location or provider.

“We appreciate that this is not ideal for applicants, particularly those with children but in times of housing emergency, the council has a legal duty to provide emergency accommodation to those in need.

“The council cannot pay allowances for people experiencing homelessness; if they need financial support, we recommend they contact Citizens Advice North Oxfordshire advice service, which we fund, for information about money, housing, benefits, and more.

“The acceptable standards for temporary accommodation vary depending on the type, duration and size of accommodation offered; different types of accommodation falls under different legislation.

“It is very difficult to predict the length of a temporary accommodation placement. The placement can also be in a number of different places depending on how their housing application progresses. Whilst the person or family may be in temporary accommodation for a number of months, this may be in a unit of self-contained temporary accommodation that is not a hotel, and thus has more facilities and thus is more suitable for a longer stay.”

Shelter offers help for those with housing issues and homelessness on its free helpline 0808 800 4444.