After agreeing to lease 38 flats in Bletchley for homeless households last week (15 November), this week (Tuesday 21) the Council agreed to lease 70 modular homes for homeless households for 15 years on Gurnards Aveue, Fishermead.

This will be the first site in Milton Keynes agreed for modular housing and will act as a pilot before other sites are looked at. This decision further reinforces the Council’s commitment to providing temporary accommodation for homeless households in Milton Keynes.

It also reflects the need to get value for money from the providers of temporary accommodation.

Cllr Nigel Long Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Housing said, “These 70 new modular homes are being provided through our partnership arrangement with the Mears Group and reflect the Councils commitment to both providing more temporary accommodation in Milton Keynes, but also the desire to reduce the weekly cost of temporary accommodation.“

Because the deal is to lease the properties for 15 years the weekly cost comes down from £314.23 per week to £196.50 per week for a two bed property.

Cllr Long added, “With full occupancy the annual savings from this development will be £460,303. This is a saving of £6.9 million over 15 years. So not only are we delivering temporary accommodation in Milton Keynes we are saving Council Tax payers a lot of money over 15 years.“

Cllr Long concluded, “Labour led Milton Keynes Council are strongly committed to helping homeless households get back on their feet and good Milton Keynes based temporary accommodation is a key first step in achieving that. The 70 modular properties are an important part of response to the homelessness crisis facing Milton Keynes.“