To approve a capital grant to Citizen Housing for improvement works to enable the launch of a homelessness hub in Hereford, with an associated nominations agreement.

The proposal forms part of Project Brave, an initiative developed during the Covid19 response and now evolving to make homelessness in Herefordshire rare, infrequent, non-recurring and short-lived.

It is proposed to make a grant of capital to Citizen Housing to enable redecoration and refreshment of the accommodation located west of the City Centre. The grant for works to create a homelessness hub will be funded entirely from a capital grant awarded for the purpose to the council by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG)

The hub will launch during April 2021 and provide drop-in advice and support, eight units of emergency accommodation and four self contained flats for transition of homeless people towards independent living. Support and advice will be provided by the council's Housing Solutions service and Vennture, with housing management through Citizen Housing. There will be a nominations and operational agreement between the three organisations to support smooth and effective accommodation and support of homeless people at the hub.