81 homeless families from London could move to Chatham
Medway charities are warning there just isn't the capacity to support a sudden influx of vulnerable people.
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00:00 A busy morning unloading furniture to be moved into this newly converted residential building
00:07 in the centre of Chatham.
00:09 The question of who will be sleeping on these beds in the former office block has long been
00:14 a hot topic.
00:16 Anchorage House was once rumoured to house asylum seekers, but now a housing association
00:23 has told us they're planning to use the building to house 81 families from the London borough
00:28 of Newham.
00:29 That association specialises in providing accommodation for homeless people.
00:35 But opposite the block is Gillingham Street Angels' cafe.
00:38 They also have a food bank, supporting a growing 18,000 people across Medway every month.
00:46 They're worried there's going to be a surge in demand.
00:49 The support needed to help the people of Medway is phenomenal.
00:52 There's a lot of groups, not just us, there's a lot of other groups out there that help
00:55 all these people and they're already under pressure.
00:56 I mean, literally just behind where we're filming now is our cafe.
00:59 We've got a charity shop just behind Anchorage shop on the other side and we have these parts
01:03 of us to make ourselves sustainable.
01:05 What we want is to be sustainable and get our own money so we can carry on doing the
01:08 work we do.
01:09 But we are based in Medway and we're trying to help the people of Medway.
01:12 What we can't do is take on the people of London.
01:15 A Newham Council spokesperson told us they're experiencing an acute housing crisis with
01:20 a 50% rise in homelessness presentations.
01:23 They go on to say they're working with external management to provide homes at Anchorage House
01:28 for families who would otherwise face the uncertainty of life in hotels or B&Bs.
01:34 And finally, they state there will be daily on-site management alongside regular inspections
01:39 and they look forward to working with Medway Council.
01:41 Deluxe were taking bids from local authorities for temporary accommodation.
01:47 I had encouraged Medway to submit a bid.
01:50 However, I believe that wasn't sort of taken up.
01:55 It may have been successful, it might not have been.
01:58 However, I think we should be looking at taking opportunities where there are opportunities
02:04 to sort of increase the availability of temporary accommodation for local people.
02:09 Anchorage House was converted into flats under permitted development rights.
02:14 It essentially means the developer bypassed Medway Council for planning permission.
02:18 We always had some concerns and are looking at in closer detail at that particular building
02:25 to see how would it be best to be used if it were to be meeting housing need in Medway.
02:31 However, the whole time that we're reviewing that, there is always opportunity that other
02:35 people will want to use it as a block.
02:38 And that's happened through both the Home Office, who expressed an interest over a year
02:42 ago, and now a London borough.
02:45 Well it seems Anchorage House is now ready to take in families, but who will be making
02:49 that building their home?
02:51 Will it be people from the London borough of Newham?
02:54 Will it be local people from Medway or asylum seekers?
02:58 Gabriel Morris for KMTV in Chatham.