Bid to let local residents in need access proposed temporary housing

Monday 28 October 2024

Deputies will be asked to broaden who can live in temporary housing that Policy & Resources wants to build.

Its Budget includes a proposition that creating a construction village and temporary key worker housing are added to the list of major projects in the States portfolio.

Deputies Andy Taylor and Aidan Matthews want to amend that so local residents could also be helped.

"While the proposer and seconder do not dispute the needs for these of employment groups, the proposition unamended fails to provide any immediate relief to islanders already struggling with access to accommodation," their proposed Budget amendment says.

"It is our view that any accommodation, temporary or otherwise, should be available to those most in need and not reserved for a group who are yet to even gain employment in the island.

"The amended proposition ensures that local residents would also be able to benefit from temporary housing opportunities rather than such housing being prioritised only for off-island construction/key workers."

They said that budget proposals do not give any detail or commitments to a particular site, style or method of development, leaving the Policy and Resources Committee a large degree of flexibility in bringing forward proposals.

"This amendment, if adopted, would retain the committee's flexibility in developing these proposals.

"For the avoidance of doubt, neither the proposer or seconder consider any temporary housing to be a substitute or alternative to building permanent homes, but it could be an addition to the existing housing programme, and could be particularly useful for emergency accommodation for those who find themselves without a roof over their head (e.g. due to lack of liquidity and shortfalls in both the States and private rental market)."

Charity Caritas recently launched a £1m. fundraising drive to create a housing community using modular buildings to house those most in need.

It is estimated that around 1,000 people in Guernsey do not have access to secure housing.

The Budget debate gets under way on Tuesday 5 November.