Hostels under threat as council reviews funding

Ladybeck Housing in the Eastgate area of Leeds will close on 4 March. The council said the hostel did not provide long-term help for homeless people.

Peter Gruen, executive board member with responsibility for neighbourhoods and housing at Leeds Council, said the council was moving away from using hostels: ‘The feedback we have had from people using our homeless services clearly tells us that our services need to be more flexible and better able to respond to a broad range of needs.

‘Hostels are no longer a popular option. Although they can often solve an immediate housing need, people feel that temporary self-contained accommodation is a more preferable option and has a better, longer term outcome.’

The council said it had carried out a consultation with homeless people who said they preferred self-contained accommodation rather than a hostel.

Norma Harris, area manager for Ladybeck House, said the withdrawal of local authority funding had led to the closure: ‘Across the country the current economic climate is extremely tough, both for local authorities and their housing providers,’ she said.

The building will be turned into flats.