Eight modular homes installed on a Bermondsey council estate to provide temporary accommodation for rough sleepers have remained empty two months after opening, writes Rich Brann…
The delay, according to Southwark Council, is down to Thames Water not connecting them to the water supply, with the company who built the homes saying trying to get a date from them “has been like pulling teeth.”
Hill Group handed over the eight Solohaus homes to Southwark Council in a grand ceremony in mid-January, with a press release at the time declaring that the innovative modular homes could be built and installed in as little as eight weeks.
However, when the News revisited the site two months later we were shocked to see that far being used by the homeless it had been returned to a construction site.
Our enquires to the council and the Hill Group saw both blame Thames Water for failing to inspect the site on Leroy Street, off Tower Bridge Road, and begin supplying water since the site’s opening.
A spokesman for the Hill Group said: “It’s really not what we expected at all…and it’s not the first time we’ve had this problem with Thames Water, it’s a problem that’s become notable over the last 18 months. Trying to get a date (for installation) has been like pulling teeth.”
Cllr Helen Dennis, Cabinet Member for New Homes and Sustainable Development, said: “The Solohaus housing project on Leroy Street is a brilliant scheme which we’re very excited to see completed.
“There have been some delays in completion due to difficulties that Thames Water experienced in establishing a water connection…although Hill and Southwark have tried to accelerate the process as much as possible, it has not been within our control.”
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Hill Group clarified that while it had been deeply regrettable to have had to wait an extra two months for Thames Water to complete the project’s water supply, the company had proven more communicative over time and they hoped to see people move in very soon.
The Solohaus modular homes are designed and construction for off-site, with quick installation being key to their success in tackling the housing crisis. The whole process is said to take as little as eight weeks, and at the opening Southwark Council said that if the scheme was a success may lead to more being installed across the borough.
Once opened, the current scheme will support Southwark’s efforts to house its homeless population, on top of rough sleepers 20,000 people currently on their waiting list for a council home and 4000 households are in temporary accommodation.
Hill Group and Southwark Council have both clarified that a meeting last week with Thames Water has helped establish that water supply to the homes will begin soon, though neither could yet confirm when the new opening date would be.
Thames Water declined to comment.
