SEVERE financial pressures are being shouldered by Colchester Council due to increasing costs and demands for temporary accommodation - but the leader of the authority has assured residents: "We're not going broke".
According to the council’s own projections, temporary shelter for Colchester residents who become homeless could cost the authority an extra £860,000 this year - or £1.4 million to the end of March 2024.
The calculation was made after the publication of the council’s housing insights report which revealed Colchester residents are struggling to cope with a shortage of affordable housing and a rise in private rental costs.
The result is that the numbers of people facing eviction and homelessness are increasing, with council leader David King saying more people are facing similarly stark outlooks over the coming months.
He said: “People may see a few of our homeless residents when they sleep rough, but this is just the tip of the iceberg.
“There are currently 316 families in temporary accommodation in Colchester and we’re expecting more at risk of homelessness in the coming months.
“We will meet our legal duty to those at risk and to help others helping them, and we are working hard to provide more affordable and council homes in Colchester.
“This year we have built 20 new council homes, purchased 42 existing homes to bring them back into social housing stock and delivered 47 affordable rented homes.
“But demand outpaces supply, and the shortfall in Government support is not sustainable.”
Mr King stopped short of saying Colchester Council is in the same position as other authorities such as Birmingham, Thurrock, and Woking, which have had to issue Section 114 notices in an effective declaration of bankruptcy.
Despite this, Mr King added the additional costs of £860,000 a year are another weight on the council’s creaking financial infrastructure.
He said: “We’re starting to see other councils either warning of or issuing Section 114 notices; we are not going broke, but our challenges are growing every day – made worse by the costs of providing temporary accommodation.
“We and other councils will do whatever we can to alleviate this pressure, but we need national fixes for a national problem.”
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