Peterborough homeless charity seek to install bespoke cabins for rough sleepers with government grant

Light Project Peterborough has been successful in its bid for a grant from the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) Homelessness Transformation Fund for faith, community and voluntary sector organisations.

The grant has been offered to enable the provision of quality, COVID secure emergency off the street accommodation in the winter of 2021/22, and to enable faith and community groups to help reduce the number of individuals sleeping rough or requiring emergency shelter.

It is hoped that the funding can help to revitalise the Peterborough Winter Night Shelter scheme, that has been prevented from operating as normal due to the pandemic. The shelter first opened in the winter of 2015 and by its fifth season in 2019, had brought together 15 church communities to support the accommodation of people sleeping rough. 867 beds were freely given, 7,581 volunteering hours mobilised and 49 of the 57 people supported moved into further accommodation.

During the COVID-10 pandemic, the team and volunteers then partnered with Peterborough City Council to lead the staffing and logistics of the ‘Everyone In’ initiative. This partnership saw 339 people supported with 177 people moving into accommodation.

In October 2018 the Garden House opened LPP as Peterborough’s partnership hub for first steps support to move rough sleepers off the streets. In 2020, 8,256 individual support activities were delivered and hosted at the house with at least one new person coming through the doors every day. Up until March 2021 the team and volunteers at the Garden House have supported over 1000 different people

The project has received interest from several church communities in the city to host people from self-contained units and the proposal that has been put forward to the city council to place two portable cabins in the yard at the back of Peterborough International Christian Centre on Lincoln Road. How long they would remain has yet to be determined but the grant is based on winter provision through to the end of March 2022. If further funding is put forward, they the project would like them to remain for two years, subject to being granted temporary planning permission.

The cabins themselves have an external floor area of 12 sqm, an ensuite shower cubicle, flushing toilet, wash basin, heated towel rail, extractor fan, full size single bed, built in furniture with wardrobe, locker, desk, shelves, built-in microwave and fridge.

They would be hired from Buanakin and would be supplied by water and electricity through the church’s current supply.

City planners will now consider the proposals for temporary planning permission for the cabins.