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A temporary accommodation block for the homeless could replace a council car park – and produce net-zero carbon emissions.
Ashford Borough Council's cabinet has agreed to support the project which would be built on the Henwood Industrial Estate car park and add to two similar facilities in the town.
The scheme would combat the high costs of private temporary accommodation for the 100 households that are currently homeless.
The report attached to the June 24 agenda reads: "Homelessness placements cost the council and the taxpayer an average of £260 per week, though of course the social toll on those households is immeasurable.
"Therefore, the council is still seeking to increase the number of short-stay facilities it has, in tandem with increasing the number of homes it has available as ‘move-on’ accommodation."
Though in its very early stages, the proposal would see 23 units ranging in size from one to three bedrooms and residents could stay for between six to 26 weeks.
The council says the 61-space car park, which is open 24/7, is rarely used, with the report stating: "It will make much better use of the council’s under-performing car park at Henwood and is a convenient location in terms of accessing facilities for its residents.
"Taking figures from before the pandemic, Henwood car park operates at about 20% capacity and has been at this level for many years."
As part of the scheme, 31 spaces will be retained for use by residents of the short-stay accommodation.
Due to flooding seen in recent years in the car park and access road, the report states that the homes will be raised.
It reads: "In this specific case the elevated nature of each home also mitigates against flooding as the site sits in part of flood zone 3.
"The provider of the homes states they will withstand even the most extreme 100-year (plus climate change) flooding event."
As a result of the cabinet's approval, a fund of £4.7 million has been allocated which would be attained through using reserves and borrowing.
This will be offset by the £5.284m predicted to be saved by the council over the project's lifetime.
It is suggested the proposal will be designed by ZedPods, a modular construction company that has achieved award-winning schemes with reduced carbon emissions.
Initially, the use of converted shipping containers was considered, however the report notes: "Asking Ashford residents to live for several weeks in a converted shipping container, which does not abide by the national space standards, was potentially morally problematic."
A public consultation will be held ahead of the project's planning application being submitted.
The cabinet hopes the new temporary accommodation will reflect Christchurch House and Christchurch Lodge, which are both located in Beaver Road.
These previous schemes garnered widespread praise from councils across the country.
During the cabinet meeting, council leader Gerry Clarkson (Con) said: "In Ashford I think we can be rightly proud of our housing department.
"Not all boroughs have their own housing department, and we have about 6,000 council homes and they're all very well-managed.
"We bought Christchurch House and Christchurch Lodge to put people in reasonable accommodation, rather than this awful bed and breakfast position, and we're able to put them in suitable and humane housing with space for the children to play and to store goods – the Henwood project would be an extension of that."
Last March, the Henwood estate was shut off when a huge pool of water formed outside the fire station, blocking the only access road.
