Southwark Council has welcomed the very first self-contained modular homes in Bermondsey to help people who are homeless or are sleeping rough get their lives back on track.
The eight SoloHaus homes will be a stepping stone for people who are ready to move into their own private place where they can learn how to manage a tenancy effectively and independently.
The modular homes are the first of their kind in Southwark and were built on vacant council land by housebuilder The Hill Group, which has successfully built several similar schemes across the country. The homes are located on a site in Leroy Street, off Tower Bridge Road, which was once home to garages.
The Hill Group gifted the single-bedroom homes to Southwark Council, who will be supporting the residents during their time there and will help them to find a permanent home.
Each SoloHaus home takes around eight to ten weeks to build and comes fully furnished with a living space, a fitted kitchen, a modern bathroom and a single bedroom.
The homes have been carefully designed with homelessness charities and organisations, and also come with low energy white goods as well as integrated cabling for broadband and TV connection.
Cllr Helen Dennis, Cabinet Member for New Homes and Sustainable Development at Southwark Council, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “These homes are designed to help people who have got experience of homelessness. They might be in our hostels for example, but they might now be ready to move and be able to have their own place and manage a tenancy.
“It’s the first step that enables people to move out of that kind of shared living situation and have a place of their own so they can get their lives back on track really and be able to sustain a tenancy before then moving on to more permanent accommodation further down the line.”
Cllr Dennis added: “We’ve got one other site where we are planning to bring some of these homes forward and another six units, and at the moment we’re also exploring other parts of the borough and where it might be appropriate to bring forward more modular homes like this as well.”
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Southwark Council says the eight modular homes are an expansion of the council’s Housing First programme, which aims to end homelessness through housing support and provision.
The programme launched in 2017 and has supported 70 residents to secure longer-term homes and support. The programme has been praised for its effective and well-evidenced way to help rough sleepers, and there are calls for it to be expanded across England.
The programme has been developed using funding from the Single Homeless Accommodation Programme, with the Mayor of London providing £224,889 in capital grant funding. This money is alongside £960,000 in funding for the support of residents at the Bermondsey site and two other locations.
Andy Hill OBE Founder and Group Chief Executive of The Hill Group, said: “The delivery of these homes has been made possible through the collaboration of many dedicated partners, and I would like to sincerely thank everyone involved for their invaluable support.
“The homes at Leroy Street demonstrate the power of partnerships, and I hope they offer the residents a safe and supportive environment in which to rebuild their lives and move forward with confidence.”
