THE number of homeless households housed in emergency temporary accommodation in Denbighshire has remained at around 180 since March 2020.

According to a council report, a high proportion of those presenting as homeless are singles aged 35 and under and large families.

The report also reveals households are remaining in temporary accommodation longer than before the pandemic, due to a lack of suitable move-on accommodation.

Despite this, the council says they have secured tenancies for 99 households in social housing over the last 18 months.

The report revealed the number of people living on the street in Denbighshire was in single figures.

Councillors on Denbighshire’s partnerships scrutiny committee discussed the matter after examining the effectiveness of the council’s homelessness service.

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Denbighshire receives a £7.3m housing support grant from Welsh Government and must regularly review its success and operate in line with the national ‘rapid rehousing’ vision.

Cllr Joan Butterfield said housing was so oversubscribed that she was aware of one family with children living in a cellar.

“I’m finding, because of the homeless situation and the housing being so oversubscribed, I’m having families now that are outgrowing the accommodation that we gave them or guided them towards prior to the pandemic, and that is almost three years ago now,” she said.

“I have families now that are at risk because they are in inappropriate housing for the family’s needs. Three years on, a five-year-old child becomes an eight going into a nine-year-old child, which has different needs.”

She added: “I’ve got a particular problem with a family living in what is virtually a cellar, a family of three, two children and one adult.”

Denbighshire officer Liz Grieve responded: “As you know, we’ve got an awful lot of people in really distressing circumstances who aren’t homeless but are still in very desperate, very urgent need of housing,” she said.

“And the fact of the matter is that we just don’t have the housing available in order to be able to offer them social housing.”

The Welsh Government’s vision promotes the use of good quality emergency temporary accommodation.

Denbighshire claims it is reducing the use of bed and breakfast accommodation by taking a more strategic approach to homelessness, using more appropriate council-owned emergency temporary accommodation.

Denbighshire has bought Epworth Lodge in Rhyl to provide eight units of emergency temporary family accommodation, which is expected to be handed to the homelessness prevention team later in 2022.

And the council says it will identify other premises that could be used for emergency accommodation.

But according to the report, the biggest barrier to addressing homelessness is the lack of suitable, affordable, permanent move-on accommodation or social housing, leading to larger waiting lists.

Denbighshire says it will attempt to solve the problem by working with private landlords whilst extending its community housing portfolio.

A pilot scheme started in 2020 secured properties through the Welsh Government’s private leasing scheme, and earlier this year, the council revised its incentives for landlords, including five – 20-year leases and renovation grants of up to £25K.

The committee had to be sure the homelessness service was in line with the Welsh Government’s vision after reviewing progress and addressing audits.

Cllr Peter Scott proposed the committee backed the report, and this was seconded by Cllr Bobby Feeley, and the report was backed by the scrutiny committee.