Bridgend Council’s Cabinet is set to approve a short-term extension with the housing charity Wallich to run three supported housing schemes on Coity Road in Bridgend town centre (pdf).
The three projects provide a total of 28 residential units:
- Ty Ogwr (16 units) – General purpose temporary accommodation for homeless people being supported by Bridgend Council’s housing team.
- Cornerstone House (7 units) – General purpose temporary accommodation for homeless people being supported by Bridgend Council’s housing team.
- Vesta Court (5 units) – Supporting housing – usually for no more than a year – for people with a history of substance abuse.
In the year to November 2022, at least 80 people were temporarily housed at the three schemes.
Recent changes to Welsh law affects providers of temporary and supported housing in schemes. The main sticking point is that people living in temporary and supported housing could be owed an occupation contract and be treated more like a tenant than someone being housed in an emergency.
This means a longer-term contract with Wallich (the current contract was for five years) can’t yet be drafted and negotiated.
The current contract with Wallich is set to expire in March 2023, but subject to Cabinet agreement will be extended by a further six months until the full implications of the law change are worked out.
