New housing block purchase by Westminster agreed – but pressure to delivery more temporary homes continues to bite

By Ben Lynch, Local Democracy Service

A building formerly occupied by tenants from a housing association has been bought by Westminster City council to bolster its temporary accommodation stock.

The local authority says Hopkinson House on Vauxhall Bridge Road will deliver a minimum of 33 additional temporary housing units within the borough, and that the purchase prevents the building being lost to the private sector.

The Victorian four-storey building was previously owned by the housing association Look Ahead, which bought it in 2011. Look Ahead provides accommodation for a range of vulnerable adults, though reportedly chose to dispose of the building in late 2022 due to the high costs of bringing it up to a decent homes standard.

According to a decision notice published by the council, Westminster began looking into the site in 2023, and agreed to purchase it in June this year. The price paid has not been disclosed.

There are currently 63 residential units in Hopkinson House, which has been vacant since Look Ahead moved out of the premises earlier this month. Westminster says that following refurbishment and reconfiguration of the building, it is expected to deliver a ‘minimum’ of 33 temporary homes.

A spokesman for the council said: “As with many other local authorities, Westminster City council is seeing a significant increase in approaches from individuals and households in housing need.

“The end of private rented tenancies and the inability to find alternative affordable accommodation, together with family breakdown and domestic violence are the most common reasons given by those seeking housing support.

“We have set aside capital funding to buy property to suit temporary tenants, so council taxpayers do not end up having to pay over the odds to put people in hotels. Hopkinson House was very suitable, and we’re pleased our negotiations to acquire it were successful.

“We’ll now begin looking at options for reconfiguration of Hopkinson House in order to provide appropriate housing for families and individuals for whom we have a duty.”

Westminster did not confirm when it expects the units will be available for use.

Data revealed via a Freedom of Information (FoI) request found Westminster City council’s spend on temporary accommodation shot up by £34 million between 2022/23 and 2023/24, the biggest jump in a decade.

In the last year, 3,000 households applied to the council as homeless, which represented a 35 per cent increase on the previous 12 months.

To help mitigate the rising numbers, the council has earmarked £178m to buy more properties for temporary accommodation. In March, Westminster promised to purchase more homes to be used as temporary accommodation in two years than it had in the last decade.

Pictured top: Hopkinson House in Vauxhall Bridge Road, which should deliver a ‘minimum’ of 33 temporary accommodation units (Picture: LDRS Supplied)