Planned Bridgwater homeless facility to be sold off by charity

A planned homeless facility in Bridgwater will be sold off because the building cannot provide “a safe and supportive environment” for its residents.

Homelessness charity Arc (formerly Taunton Action for the Homeless) applied in March 2022 to convert the former Tower House B&B at 27 Wembdon Road into an eight-bedroom house of multiple occupation (HMO) – and secured planning permission from Sedgemoor District Council’s development committee in September 2022.

The charity subsequently applied to vary the planning permission to allow fewer staff to be on duty within the property during the evenings and on weekends.

Somerset Council’s planning committee north voted to defer a decision on these changes in June following concerns about public safety, with a final ruling originally being planned for the committee’s upcoming meeting in Bridgwater on Tuesday (August 12).

But Arc has now announced it will be withdrawing the plans and intends to sell the property – with a view to providing accommodation at an alternative location in the near-future.

Under the original planning permission, Arc stated that the property would be occupied by staff 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The charity sought to amend this, with “suitably experienced, skilled and trained housing management or support workers” being present during weekday hours only.

At evening and weekends, the building would have been monitored using CCTV live-streamed to a dedicated control centre – with dedicated security and support workers being deployed to the property “where necessary”.

Arc stated in June that this was due to the potential occupants having “lower support needs” than had originally been expected when planning consent was granted.

In a statement released the charity said it had carried out “a full review” of both the property and its location, and had concluded that Tower House was no longer the best option to meet Bridgwater’s needs.

A spokesperson said: “After full consideration, we are announcing its intention to withdraw our interest in Tower House on Wembdon Road in Bridgwater.

“We will no longer seek changes to the planning consent granted in September 2022 and will instead sell the property.

“We have taken this decision based on a full review of both the property and the location’s suitability to provide a safe and supportive environment for our clients.

“We remain determined to work with the local community to find locations in Bridgwater to house and support those affected by growing levels of rough sleeping and homelessness.

“In doing so, we aim to address some of the stigma and prejudice that is held about those who find themselves homeless, and to increase the understanding of the positive impact that Arc makes across the area through well-designed accommodation and support.”