Coton Hill House - service reconfiguration

Proposal

In recent years the council has seen an increase in homelessness and the associated need to provide temporary accommodation, either whilst applications are being investigated or whilst households owed a homeless duty are awaiting an offer of suitable settled accommodation. The pressure on temporary accommodation by single homeless people has been further intensified since the government's Covid-19 pandemic response, which changed homeless legislation to widen the definition of priority need based on vulnerability. Limited availability of suitable social and private housing to use as temporary accommodation has led to reliance on the use of bed and breakfast accommodation, which is both unsuitable and costly.

Most households accommodated by the council in bed and breakfast accommodation are single people; all are vulnerable. Approximately fifty per cent of these need a form of supported temporary accommodation with on-site management and support, with the remainder able to live in dispersed supported housing.

This consultation is designed to obtain the views of local residents and all stakeholders prior to making the planning application in summer 2022 for change of use of Coton Hill House, from a residential home to a supported housing scheme (with associated office provision). Stakeholders include past and potential future service users, local people including those living in the vicinity of Coton Hill House, elected representatives (including Shrewsbury Town Council), local organisations and services, businesses, and many more.

This is an opportunity for local residents and businesses to meet staff, view the building and ask any questions regarding the proposals. This is not a formal planning consultation but an opportunity for you to get involved in shaping the service.

Key areas of focus covered within the consultation include:

• Sharing information about the proposals to ensure people are well informed
• Understanding needs and concerns of the community in terms of the proposal and how those concerns and risks can be mitigated
• Obtaining feedback from a wide range of stakeholders to ensure that these are fully considered before embarking on the formal planning application process

The consultation will include:

• Targeted engagement with key stakeholders
• A public engagement event - an informal 'drop-in' open house
• The gathering of feedback through an online survey, email and post

It's hoped that by offering a range of methods of feedback this will allow anyone with an interest in the proposals to share their views.

Proposal

Due to a lack of suitable temporary accommodation for those who find themselves without a home, we propose to change the use of the existing decommissioned care home (Coton Hill House) in order to provide a maximum of 30 units of supported accommodation with on-site staff presence 24/7.

The key features of the service are detailed below:

• The accommodation would be provided across four blocks over two floors (referred to as 'lodges')
• The rooms would be either a single or double room (no children) with up to eight rooms in each lodge
• Residents would share the kitchen, living room and bathroom with up to seven other residents in their lodge
• The premises will be managed by Shropshire Towns and Rural Housing Association (STaRH)
• STaRH will also provide 'intensive housing management' support to all residents to ensure that their tenancy is conducted correctly
• Additionally, Shropshire Council will provide specialist 1:1 support to each resident
• During (extended) office hours there will be a building concierge on site, with other staff present within the building during office hours
• Outside office hours there will be security staff on site
• When refurbishing the premises, we'll ensure that upgrade and reconfiguration works will reduce carbon emissions, with the intention of reaching net zero by 2030

Consultation

In order to consult and involve local residents, businesses, partner/stakeholder agencies and organisations, and the wider community, we're holding a 'drop-in' week at Coton Hill House where we'll be open to anyone to drop in to have a look at the plans and proposals, and see how the proposed service will operate, and would welcome anyone to join us to learn more and raise any queries or concerns they may have.

The 'open house' consultation event is from Monday 6 June until Friday 10 June between 10:30am and 6:30 pm.

Your views on this service development are welcomed.  Please click on the 'How to get involved' tab for details on how to comment.