A FORMER police station is the latest building in Swansea which will be converted into accommodation for people who are homeless or at risk of being homeless.
Swansea Council is working with social housing landlord Pobl Group to convert the grade two-listed former central police station on the corner of Orchard Street and Alexandra Road into temporary supported accommodation.
Pobl has owned the building, now known as Llys Glas, since 2003. It had been offering it as student accommodation but no longer does.
The latest plans involve an interior reconfiguration to provide around 65 rooms for single people or couples. Five existing kitchens are to be upgraded and three new ones installed. There’ll also be a new sprinkler system and some new access arrangements. Detailed planning and listed building consent applications have been approved.
The council said it hoped the project will reduce its reliance on bed and breakfast accommodation, which has increased since the the Covid-19 pandemic and been compounded by wider cost-of-living challenges and a shortage of affordable housing.
Cllr Andrea Lewis, deputy leader and cabinet member for service transformation, said: “This is a great opportunity for the council and Pobl to work together and ease some of the pressures we face with tackling homelessness in Swansea.
“We will also be able to ensure those being housed within the redeveloped property are supported for any additional needs while they are there, with the aim of moving them into more permanent housing as soon as possible.”
She added that the latest statistics for homelessness in Swansea showed it was increasing year on year.
Andrew Vye, Pobl Group executive director for customer and community, said housing was at the heart of everything. “The security a suitable environment provides can allow those who have experienced homelessness to get back on their feet,” he said. “Homelessness continues to be a challenge across Wales and can impact anyone.”
Pobl has previously helped the council create temporary supported accommodation for 24 people at the Ty Tom Jones building on Alexandra Road. The council has developed homeless “pods” at a former education centre in Uplands, plus temporary accommodation flats for families in Penlan.
Local authorities across Wales face growing demand for temporary and permanent accommodation. According to Audit Wales there were 11,591 people being temporarily housed by councils in Wales in May last year, of which 3,003 were children.
Swansea councillors heard at a committee meeting last week that “multiple millions” of pounds were being spent annually in the city to address the challenge. Speaking at the governance and audit committee meeting, Mark Wade, the council’s director of place, said: “I think this one has been a a significant risk and issue for us for quite some time. But it’s more of a glowing red status at the moment.”