Helping prevent homelessness
Early last year, we advised you that due to the Coronavirus pandemic and government guidance we had taken the decision to temporarily close The Fox Street Homeless Hostel and rehouse its residents in CGA homes.
The ongoing circumstances have meant that we have been unable to reopen the hostel. The design of the building makes it impossible to socially distance and provide the services that we would like to. We have been busy working up a new plan to support those who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless and we have exciting news to share with you.
Our Board took the decision earlier this year to decommission Maudland House as a Sheltered Housing Scheme as it had become difficult to let and no longer appealed to people. The few remaining residents are in the process of moving to homes that better reflect the needs of older people and some will move to our new state-of-the-art independent living scheme, The Courtyards in Ingol.
We have been working closely with Preston City Council and have obtained planning permission to re-purpose Maudland House. We are currently redesigning the building to accommodate up to 26 people that are either homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. The new design will provide spacious self-contained flats and areas that support opportunities for training and development that will assist people to live independently in the future.
We have also just received planning permission to transform Alexandra House at a later date into a much-needed facility for homeless families. Watch this space for photos and more information on our progress