Additional reporting by Gabriel Morris

The London borough using a tower block to house its homeless has been revealed.

Last week, it was confirmed 81 families were due to move into Anchorage House in Chatham High Street from this week.

Now, it’s been confirmed that Newham is the authority behind the plans amid a 50% rise in homelessness in the east-end borough.

The 11-storey building, which has been empty since Medway County and Family Court moved out, had been earmarked as a potential home for asylum seekers.

Theori Housing Management Services specialises in working with local authorities in London to provide accommodation for homeless people and is overseeing the transfer.

Theori, which has 23 years experience of working in this sector, will provide management and maintenance on behalf of the owner and will work with local councils to provide much-needed temporary accommodation, particularly in areas where there is a housing crisis.

A Newham Council spokesman said: “Newham, like much of London, is experiencing an acute housing crisis and we have seen an almost 50 per cent rise in homelessness presentations over the past two years. There is also an increasing shortage of suitable homes in Newham, making it incredibly difficult to house families in the borough despite our best efforts.

“We are working with an external management agency to provide homes at Anchorage House for families who would otherwise face the uncertainty of life in hotels or B&Bs.

“There will be a daily on-site management presence as well as regular inspections of the property and we will work closely with Medway Council to provide ongoing support as needed.”

There has been backlash to this news with many questioning why Medway’s homeless are not being looked after first.

Neil Charlick, from Gillingham Street Angels, said: "I think the local services, voluntary sector, everyone is under pressure as it is. Bringing 80 families into Medway is madness. You can't get a doctor's appointment. If you're calling the fire service, police, ambulances, everybody is under pressure, why put ourselves under more pressure?

"We feed 18,000 families a month, so if you are bringing another 81 families we're going to be feeding them as well as they're obviously struggling. So they're gonna look to local voluntary sector services.

“We've all got our problems, we've got a lot of homeless and people who need help in Medway. Let's look after ourselves first. It's great people want to be housed, but it's not a dumping ground, don't just dump everyone on us and let us pick up the pieces - we've got our own problems in Medway.

"I've got two premises very close to the property and the old Argos store, which will benefit us and that's me being a bit selfish about it. But what worries me is that it just puts more pressure on the voluntary sector in Medway. The voluntary sector in Medway is amazing but it is stretched."

Cllr Adrian Gulvin, leader of Medway Council’s Conservative Group said: "I want to make it absolutely clear that in no way am I personally attacking these families who are being moved to Medway, but what we are seeing is people dumping.

“They are obviously in very difficult circumstances and need help, however, this move is not good for Medway. It’s not particularly good for them to have been moved away from London as that’s presumably where their families, their friends, and their social circle is and so it is a bad move to take them out of London and away from that support.

“What we’re seeing is London councils people dumping in Medway, when really they should be looked after where they are.

"It puts greater pressure on services here and, I know from previous experience with similar times when people have been moved out of London into Medway, there was never any co-ordination from those involved about ensuring that these people are properly looked after and that services are boosted to accommodate them.

“Medway has its own issues that need to be addressed and this just increases the difficulty of doing that.

“I want to make clear that this is not a personal attack on these people. I don’t think they are criminals or delinquents as has been said by some, it’s just not good for them and it’s not good for Medway but unfortunately, there’s not a great deal we can do.

“I will be protesting this as much as I can, speaking with personal connections in the government to try and do something, and I’ll also be meeting with the Conservative group for the Local Government Association to discuss this, because I know it’s not just a Medway-problem, but something that a lot of places have to deal with.”

Cllr Naushabah Khan (Lab), who is portfolio holder for housing and property on Medway Council, said they had not been informed of the decision to house people from London.

She said: “I am deeply frustrated and concerned that Anchorage House, an office block in Chatham, is going to be used for temporary accommodation purposes by another local authority.

"This will undoubtedly place significant pressure on local services including schools, infrastructure and council services.

"The accommodation has been brought forward through permitted development rights and Medway Council has not been contacted or consulted as part of this process.

"We are urging the government to urgently review this planning policy which is not fit for purpose."

Jody Carrington, owner of the Poco Loco restaurant opposite Anchorage House, is angry that residents and traders had not been consulted on the move.

She said: “I don’t resent people being rehoused. But something this big with 81 households being shipped in to a single tower block will have an impact on the community.

“With all the work and efforts being done to upgrade the area, we should be working in unison.”