Pod housing could be the answer to homelessness

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Council chiefs are working with a housing developer in a new project to tackle homelessness.

Cambridge City Council has teamed up with Hill Housing to trial 16 new prototype 'pod' homes.

The modular homes have been described as "pods" owing to their small size and easy mobility.

Cambridge City Council plans to host the units on land it owns across the city, with two sites already selected for the first 10 units.

The homes being rolled out in Cambridge Credit: ITV News Anglia

It's hoped the pods will help those transitioning from living on the streets, in a hostel or another support service prior to being found longer-term accommodation.

The scheme is part of Hill's Foundation 200 initiative. The housebuilder is marking its twentieth anniversary by providing 200 of the mini temporary homes nationally, at no cost to the authorities and homelessness support providers which take them on.

Hill said the units have been designed with input from specialists and those with lived experience of homelessness to meet the needs of future occupiers.

The temporary homes have one bedroom, one bathroom, and a joint kitchen and living area, and they will come fully furnished, from white goods to cutlery.

Emma Fletcher: Turnkey solution Credit: ITV News Anglia

Hill's project's director, Emma Fletcher, said:

The 'Pods" are deliberately for one person, both in terms of the layout of the bedroom and living area, to avoid so-called cuckooing, which is where another individual or group moves into the home of a vulnerable person, and their home is then taken over, often for nefarious purposes. The layout is designed to dis-incentivise another person moving in.

For easy mobility, the homes cannot be any wider and still be transportable without a police escort for an unusually large load.

Hill said the homes will be built in a British factory and delivered on the back of a lorry.

Cllr Richard Johnson says the council will not to return homeless people to the street Credit: ITV News Anglia

In 2017 Cambridge City Council partnered with the housebuilding company to make the Cambridge Investment Partnership, which is currently involved in creating hundreds of affordable homes across the city.

Cllr Richard Johnson said the plan is part of wider efforts to address homelessness, which he said are even more pertinent now owing to the Covid-19 crisis.

He said: "We are demonstrating, in partnership with Hill, our commitment to helping support those who have previously been on the streets, who have previously been rough sleeping, into accommodation that will help them in their journey in breaking the cycle of homelessness, with a view to them potentially holding down a more sustainable housing tenancy".

Addressing concerns around lowering council space standards for those who have been homeless, Cllr Johnson rejected the notion of unfair treatment.

He pointed to Hill's efforts of including specialists and those with experience of homelessness in the design, and he said for those who have found the usual pathways to achieving stable housing have not worked, such a design may be the right option.

The council is appealing to landlords with empty accommodation and landowners with land which could be suitable for the modular homes "to play a part in alleviating the ongoing housing crisis in Cambridge".

The council has committed to helping those temporarily housed in the pandemic into longer-term accommodation.