Local authorities in Shropshire reportedly allocated a sum of £2.6 million to accommodate homeless refugees within the region.
Shropshire Council has announced a significant investment of £2.62 million towards providing housing for refugees from Afghanistan and Ukraine. The funding, which comprises £1.2 million from the second round of the government's funding, will be used to construct 40 new housing units.
This additional funding, allocated by the Home Office, follows the council's previous decision to spend £7.6 million on up to 30 homes for Ukrainian and Afghan refugees. The initial funding, which included £3.2 million from the government's Local Authority Housing Fund, was agreed by councillors in March.
In total, 40 homes will be provided through both rounds of the programme. The new homes, which will range from two to four bedrooms, are an addition to the 30 homes from round one of the funding.
The council intends to match fund the round two allocation with £450,000 from 'section 106' funds and £970,000 of borrowing. To facilitate this, Shropshire Council plans to purchase 10 new properties in the county.
Nine of the new homes will be offered to households currently in bridging hotels in the West Midlands. Notably, Shropshire does not have any bridging hotels for Afghan refugees, but families are currently being accommodated elsewhere in the region. The tenth home will be used as temporary accommodation.
The council aims to complete the purchases of the new homes by 2024. Once the immediate need to help refugee families affected by conflicts in Ukraine and Afghanistan has been addressed, all 40 homes will be used to alleviate wider homelessness pressures.
This move by Shropshire Council is part of a larger commitment to assisting in providing settled accommodation for these families, with the aim of helping them integrate into their new communities and lead stable lives.
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