There are fears ‘desperately needed’ specialist mental health accommodation in York ‘may never see the light of day’.
City of York Council approved plans for two mental health supported housing schemes in 2020:
- Woolnough House, off Hull Road
- and Crombie House on Danebury Drive in Acomb.
But progress has stalled.
The schemes would provide 24/7 on-site support for 32 people.
According to the council, these would address “a significant gap in existing provision” for people who struggle with issues such as substance abuse, domestic abuse or contact with the criminal justice system.
But a 2021 procurement exercise carried out to find a third party to develop the sites was unsuccessful.
A timeline from 2020 said the aim was for both sites to be up and running by May of this year, but the latest council documents state that they could be “available late 2024?”.
Cllr Michael Pavlovic said council officers had told him they had “real anxieties that it may never see the light of day”.
Head of housing management services Denis Southall said the city was “desperate” for more specialist accommodation.
It would form part of the city’s single homeless resettlement pathway – currently under review – which supports people who become homeless or are rough sleeping.
There are around 350 people on the resettlement pathway at any one time.
Fill the gap
Mr Southall said: “I am determined to see the city get something that will fill the gap around specialist mental health support.
“We’ve already recruited some of the posts that will form part of that pathway.”
Mr Southall said meetings were taking place to “reinvigorate” the process, but that his team was doing what it could in the meantime.
He added: “I will do what I can, whether it’s using the existing stock – or beg, borrow or steal – other stock and bring in some of the resources that are set aside…to take a step towards that mental health pathway.”
Any changes to the approved 2020 plan would have to be made by the council’s executive committee.
After the meeting of the housing and community safety scrutiny committee, former probation officer Cllr Pavlovic said: “This facility for people with mental health problems is desperately needed – this situation cannot just be allowed to continue in the hope that economic conditions will improve for private developers.”
“The council needs to make a decision on whether to develop this site itself, which in the long run will save money on out of town placements.”
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