YMCA warns Torbay Council 'in danger' of losing millions of funding if housing plans aren't approved

The YMCA in Devon is warning a local council is "in danger" of missing out on millions of pounds of government funding if housing proposals cannot be agreed on.

Torbay Council has been allocated £4.1 million from the Homes England scheme but only if plans for 36 units in Paignton are submitted by March 2025.

YMCA Exeter has been working on the proposals with Torbay Council which would see supported and affordable accommodation built in the town for care-experienced young people.

Si Johns, who is the joint chief executive of YMCA Exeter, says there is a "real need" for this type of accommodation in Torbay, as the area has five times the national average of care-experienced young people.

He says that in Paignton, more young people are at risk of homelessness as there has been a 42% increase in care leavers over the past 10 years.

Si said: "In order for this to happen, YMCA Exeter needs Torbay Council to actively help us establish these additional properties. This has been one of the issues, trying to find the actual premises.

"They need to be located in the heart of the town centre. I know that’s difficult because, at the moment in Torbay, a lot of that heart is around guest houses - but they are empty for half of the year.

"So the frustration really is around the lack of understanding about what these [young] people are like, what they need and what they can bring to a community. As well as the danger of losing a huge amount of investment."

YMCA Exeter believes another reason why Torbay Council is refusing, is due to concerns that young people cause antisocial behaviour.

But PC Nathan Johnson, who regularly patrols Exeter city centre, says this is not the case - in fact more supported housing for young people at risk of homelessness could help tackle crime in Torbay.

PC Johnson said: "Our experience in Exeter around anti-social behaviour is it isn’t from our young people.

"Actually housing, employment and education are the solution if you’ve got an issue with volume crime, shoplifting, antisocial behaviour.

"The more we can employ people and house them, the data tells us the less they’ll be stuck in that cycle."

Andy Fletcher was in care between the ages of eight to 18, after which he describes having to fend for himself.

Andy said: "I guess it was apprehension, a little bit of fear, quite a scary time for me and I wasn’t really a great place mentally."

But after a difficult time in emergency accommodation, he was referred to YMCA Exeter and allocated a room in supported accommodation.

Andy said: "It felt somewhere I was safe and secure, I was able to then grow as a person with the help of the YMCA and learn new things. t was a sense of having something that was mine for a period of time."

Andy believes it would have been a very different story if he had not received this support: "Honestly, I would have ended up on the streets, in a prison somewhere or mostly likely, dead.

"You can see the homelessness happening in Exeter, what you don't want is something similar to happen in Torbay, because the council have not looked after the care leavers they have there."

In response, a spokesperson for Torbay Council said: "We continue to work closely with Homes England and our partners to discuss the delivery of projects allocated funding from the Government’s Single Homelessness Accommodation Programme.

"The provision delivers a key element of our Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy.

“All planning applications received by Torbay Council as the Planning Authority must be considered according to their individual circumstances.

"The process is governed by planning law and decisions must take into account relevant national and local planning policies."