TWO homes have been bought in Weymouth – to help cut down on the use of bed and breakfast for homeless people.

A borough council report says that £450,000 has been set aside for the properties, although it does not say where they are.

One has been completed, costing £11,500 in internal alterations to make it useable, while the other is now under offer but should be usable without any significant works being needed.

The borough’s management committee on February 5th will be told that the decision to buy the houses was taken because of the increased use of bed and breakfast for homeless people when no other places could be found. At one point, during the summer, local people were being housed in the Bournemouth area because of a lack of suitable homes in the borough.

A report from housing brief holder Cllr Gill Taylor will tell the committee: “Demands on the council for homeless prevention input has been greater than anticipated, largely due to the impact of the new Homelessness Reduction Act in 2018, and this budget is expected to be overspent by £9,000 at year end, though funded by reserves.”

The number of households in bed and breakfast through homelessness continues to rise – with 20 accommodated in Weymouth and Portland between October and the end of December and 15 in West Dorset. This compares to 3 in the WPBC area a year ago for the same quarter and 6 in WDDC.

Over the same period North Dorset recorded nobody in bed and breakfast because they were homeless.