A message from Kingston Council's Portfolio Holder for Housing
Cllr Davey, Portfolio Holder for Housing, said:
With the start of a new year, we are looking forward and planning for the future and we would like your views on our ambitious five-year homelessness and rough sleeping strategy.
Homelessness takes many forms - rough sleeping is the most evident, but it could be households facing eviction from private rented accommodation, someone living with family or friends, having to ‘sofa surf’ or living in temporary accommodation.
The issues faced by those at risk of homelessness or sleeping rough are often complex. Working closely with community partners, we'll be focusing on getting people the support they need, when they need it.
Kingston currently has over 900 households living in temporary accommodation and around 3,700 on our housing register, waiting for social housing. To tackle this, we need to build the homes we need both now and in the future.
Last month saw the council’s planning committee approve the masterplan and detailed first phase of plans to provide 2,170 new homes on the Cambridge Road Estate. We’re also making the most of smaller, under-used sites, creating 100 new energy-efficient, sustainable homes across four sites in the borough.
We’re also working on our wider Housing Strategy, which will set out how we can deliver the homes we need for years to come. We’ll share this with you for your thoughts later in the year - please do get involved.
To find out more, or to share your ideas on our draft homelessness and rough sleeping strategy, visit our online engagement portal or complete a printed copy in any Kingston library by 11 March 2022.