Wolverhampton eyes ten-year Pearl House plan
A plan to use a converted former office block as emergency homeless accommodation could save the council up to £4.5m over the next ten years, city councillors will be told.
At a meeting on 19 November, City of Wolverhampton Council’s cabinet will be asked to approve a decision to lease out six-storey Pearl House for at least ten years, to help the authority tackle its growing homelessness crisis.
Figures contained in a report set to go before councillors next week showed the cost of providing temporary homeless accommodation soared to £3.8m in 2024/25, as the city grapples with a 90% increase in assessments over the past five years.
The cost of the proposed decade-long lease could run to £500,000 per year with a 4% increase every three years – but the authority is expected to save almost the same amount compared to what it currently spends housing people in more expensive bed and breakfast rooms, and daily rate accommodation.
The Waterloo Road building is currently partially converted for residential use, with 32 flats completed on the upper floors of the building and a potential further 13 flats added via a planned ground floor conversion.
The council says the ground floor would provide an opportunity to potentially include accessible housing in the scheme.
“The Council’s strategy aims to reduce temporary accommodation placements, end long-term B&B use, and avoid out of-area placements unless necessary for safety,” said the cabinet report.
“The annual lease cost of up to £500,000 will be met from the Homelessness and Temporary Accommodation service budget within the City Housing division in the Economy Directorate.
“Under a long term lease arrangement the council will be able to recover the full amount of housing benefit paid under current housing benefit subsidy rules. This will save the council the equivalent of around £450,000 per year compared with the subsidy loss that would be incurred by using 32 units of nighty rate accommodation.”
The report will be discussed at the council’s cabinet meeting on Wednesday, 19 November.
