Issue - meetings

[To approve the Single Persons Accommodation Project for delivery]

1.     That the Single Persons Accommodation Project be approved.

2.     That the Director of City Housing and Environment, as the Senior Responsible Officer, be authorised to take all necessary steps to implement the Single Persons Accommodation Project.

3.     That a virement of £2.5 million to increase the Housing Revenue Account Capital Programme budget Bond House Conversion to Residential to £4.5 million to implement the Single Persons Accommodation Project be approved, subject to the approval of the Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme funding bid.

4.     That authority be delegated to the Cabinet Member for City Assets and Housing, in consultation with the Director of City Housing and Environment, to enter into a contract with the preferred contractor in line with Council Constitution and The Public Contracts Regulations (PCR) 2015.

Councillor Bhupinder Gakhal presented the report on the proposal to implement the Single Persons Accommodation Project in Wolverhampton. The model, based on learning from the Covid-19 pandemic, would ensure better outcomes for rough sleepers and vulnerable single people who have experienced homelessness in the city. The project would convert an existing Council-owned property (Bond House) into an Assessment Centre and 24 units of accommodation. The development was scheduled for completion by summer 2022 with partial units being completed by March 2022.

Councillor Ian Brookfield added that he was extremely proud of the proposal, which was a real commitment to end the scourge of rough sleeping in the city.

Resolved:

1.    That the Single Persons Accommodation Project be approved.

2.    That the Director of City Housing and Environment, as the Senior Responsible Officer, be authorised to take all necessary steps to implement the Single Persons Accommodation Project.

3.    That a virement of £2.5 million to increase the Housing Revenue Account Capital Programme budget Bond House Conversion to Residential to £4.5 million to implement the Single Persons Accommodation Project be approved, subject to the approval of the Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme funding bid.

4.    That authority be delegated to the Cabinet Member for City Assets and Housing, in consultation with the Director of City Housing and Environment, to enter into a contract with the preferred contractor in line with Council Constitution and The Public Contracts Regulations (PCR) 2015.