COUNCILLORS in Poole have backed £2.5m plans to build new temporary housing for people at risk of becoming homeless.

A proposal to build modular housing on council-owned land in Herbert Avenue has been put forward by Borough of Poole as a way to help meet increasing demand.

The scheme was considered by members of its health and social care scrutiny committee on Monday where it was described as “vitally important”.

The council has 64 ‘units’ of accommodation for people at risk of homelessness however demand for them is expected to be almost double (127 households) in 2019/20.

To meet the gap, people have been housed in bed and breakfasts and other short-term accommodation, however the council says that this is “inappropriate” and more costly than developing additional housing itself.

As a result, the council has put together plans to develop land it already owns in Herbert Avenue for 24 units.

A report to the committee says: “The current increasing levels of demand for temporary accommodation are not expected to change over the next five to 10 years which makes it necessary to bring forward proposals that will provide accommodation units that are both fit for purpose and meet the level of demand being experienced across Poole.

“The council continues to review all options to deliver additional housing where possible and to reflect the ongoing needs of local residents in doing this.”

Speaking at Monday’s meeting, Cllr Malcolm Farrell said: “I really like the idea of doing this, particularly when I see that we spent £480,000 on bed and breakfasts.

“It’s a no brainer to me, it’s so important that we do this and I would even push for us to be more ambitious and spend more money on this.”

Following the committee’s approval, the proposal will now go to the meeting of the council’s cabinet at the end of the month for a decision on whether to push ahead with the scheme.

Officers have estimated that installing new modular buildings on the site will cost just over £2.5m and take about 16 weeks to complete.

The whole project is expected to be finished in the 2019/20 financial year.