ROUGH sleepers with high-level needs are one step closer to getting more housing support.

This comes after Buckinghamshire Council funnelled £650,000 to Hightown Housing Association for the creation of nine one-bed homes for those who need them most.

The cash will help rough sleepers to find longer-term independent accommodation.

A decision to release the funds — which are made up from unallocated developer’s contributions known as ‘Section 106’ money — was made last week. (January 27).

Hightown is now set to purchase Ardenham Lane House in Aylesbury order to create the nine new living spaces.

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Developing the homes is a follow-on from the government’s ‘everyone-in’ initiative, which assisted all rough sleepers into accommodation from the start of the pandemic.

File photo dated 25/1/2021 of a homeless person sits in a window in the City of London. The number of rough sleepers known to be living on Londons streets has risen by almost a quarter in three months, figures show. Issue date: Friday January 29, 2021.

File photo dated 25/1/2021 of a homeless person sits in a window in the City of London. The number of rough sleepers known to be living on London's streets has risen by almost a quarter in three months, figures show. Issue date: Friday January 29, 2021.

Buckinghamshire Council successfully applied to the associated Next Steps Accomodation Programme in August 2020 with proposals which have been accepted by the government and Homes England.

The authority was therefore granted £2 million to spend on housing rough sleepers.

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Of the £2 million, £1.3 million will go towards Harrow Churches Housing Association for them to be able to purchase 15 one-bedroom properties in the Wycombe and Aylesbury areas for supported housing for former rough sleepers.

The other £650,000 will go to Hightown Housing Association for the Ardenham House project.

According to a report, Buckinghamshire Council did initially intend to purchase the Ardenham Lane property and lease it to Hightown Housing, but this plan was scrapped following a ‘last-minute procedural issue’ with Home England.

As Buckinghamshire Council is ‘not a stock-owning authority’, Homes England was said to be unable to release the funding to the council.

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Instead, Hightown will purchase the homes with Buckinghamshire Council retaining nomination rights.