A Pembroke homeless hostel closed during lockdown will not be reopened by Pembrokeshire County Council.
The hostel at Riverside needs fire safety improvements and does not meet Covid-19 social distancing requirements so may be knocked down for social housing or older people’s accommodation instead.
A report of a delegated decision, made in consultation with cabinet member for housing Cllr Michelle Bateman, states that the hostel is “not fit for purpose” and those living there when it closed for lockdown have been housed elsewhere.
The cost of improving the standard of the building are “very signifiant” states the report with a range of options for homeless provision already being considered before lockdown.
The hostel’s communal facilities would not meet social distancing requirements so has not been used in recent months.
“As the Riverside Hostel is not suitable for use during the outbreak or in the long term it is necessary that the site will be closed and secured and that a district valuation will be obtained with a view to demolishing the
old buildings and redeveloping the site into social housing / older person’s accommodation,” the decision report states.
Any capital receipts from the site will be invested in “a more suitable long term solution for homelessness provision.”
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