81 homeless families from London could move to Chatham

KentOnline / KMTV

Medway charities are warning there just isn't the capacity to support a sudden influx of vulnerable people.

Transcript

00:00 A busy morning unloading furniture to be moved into this newly converted residential building

00:07 in the centre of Chatham.

00:09 The question of who will be sleeping on these beds in the former office block has long been

00:14 a hot topic.

00:16 Anchorage House was once rumoured to house asylum seekers, but now a housing association

00:23 has told us they're planning to use the building to house 81 families from the London borough

00:28 of Newham.

00:29 That association specialises in providing accommodation for homeless people.

00:35 But opposite the block is Gillingham Street Angels' cafe.

00:38 They also have a food bank, supporting a growing 18,000 people across Medway every month.

00:46 They're worried there's going to be a surge in demand.

00:49 The support needed to help the people of Medway is phenomenal.

00:52 There's a lot of groups, not just us, there's a lot of other groups out there that help

00:55 all these people and they're already under pressure.

00:56 I mean, literally just behind where we're filming now is our cafe.

00:59 We've got a charity shop just behind Anchorage shop on the other side and we have these parts

01:03 of us to make ourselves sustainable.

01:05 What we want is to be sustainable and get our own money so we can carry on doing the

01:08 work we do.

01:09 But we are based in Medway and we're trying to help the people of Medway.

01:12 What we can't do is take on the people of London.

01:15 A Newham Council spokesperson told us they're experiencing an acute housing crisis with

01:20 a 50% rise in homelessness presentations.

01:23 They go on to say they're working with external management to provide homes at Anchorage House

01:28 for families who would otherwise face the uncertainty of life in hotels or B&Bs.

01:34 And finally, they state there will be daily on-site management alongside regular inspections

01:39 and they look forward to working with Medway Council.

01:41 Deluxe were taking bids from local authorities for temporary accommodation.

01:47 I had encouraged Medway to submit a bid.

01:50 However, I believe that wasn't sort of taken up.

01:55 It may have been successful, it might not have been.

01:58 However, I think we should be looking at taking opportunities where there are opportunities

02:04 to sort of increase the availability of temporary accommodation for local people.

02:09 Anchorage House was converted into flats under permitted development rights.

02:14 It essentially means the developer bypassed Medway Council for planning permission.

02:18 We always had some concerns and are looking at in closer detail at that particular building

02:25 to see how would it be best to be used if it were to be meeting housing need in Medway.

02:31 However, the whole time that we're reviewing that, there is always opportunity that other

02:35 people will want to use it as a block.

02:38 And that's happened through both the Home Office, who expressed an interest over a year

02:42 ago, and now a London borough.

02:45 Well it seems Anchorage House is now ready to take in families, but who will be making

02:49 that building their home?

02:51 Will it be people from the London borough of Newham?

02:54 Will it be local people from Medway or asylum seekers?

02:58 Gabriel Morris for KMTV in Chatham.

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