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Supported homeless shelter plan submitted

Chris Binding
Local Democracy Reporting Service
Google A row of three-storey terraced houses at The Elms West in Sunderland. They are stretching into the distance along the left side of the picture. All have large bay windows on all three floors. Two square, brick-built gateposts stand at the entrance to the street which has no pavement. On the right, opposite the houses, is a thick canopy of trees and some well-kept green hedges topped with white flowers. A few cars are parked further down the road on both sides. A white street sign, with The Elms West in black capital letters, sits on a curved black metal garden fence on the left of the foreground.Google
The property in Sunderland has previously been a multiple-occupancy house

Plans to turn a house into supported accommodation for homeless people have been submitted.

Sunderland City Council has applied to change the use of a former "house of multiple occupancy" at The Elms West in the city's St Michael's ward.

The authority said the development, which would include three carers working during the day and two at night, would help meet demand caused by an "increase in homelessness".

The Labour-led authority is applying to its own planning department for permission to create nine self-contained apartments. A consultation into the plans is open until 2 September.

A spokesman said: "As a council we are committed to providing not just a place to stay, but meaningful support that helps people grow in confidence with them moving on to secure, independent living."

The site sits within the Ashbrooke conservation area, but the building is not listed, reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Documents showed the property historically attracted some antisocial behaviour and was "generally neglected and poorly maintained", however it had since been refurbished.

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