Council may erect prefabs in parks to ease homes shortage

A confidential report by Haringey council, passed to Housing Today, asks councillors to support a detailed study into the option of "erecting brick clad demountables" on sites throughout the borough.

Haringey has already put up 40 such structures and the council has confirmed that because of land shortages it may have to consider deploying them on parks and open spaces as a last resort.

The move is being seen as an illustration of the extent of the homelessness crisis in London. The number of people in temporary homes in the capital has risen by almost 40 per cent in two years (Housing Today, issue 146).

The paper reveals that last year Haringey overspent its homelessness budget by more than £3m. The number of homeless applicants in the borough is already up 30 per cent this year, as more and more people are priced out of the booming private rented sector.

The document explains that the situation is made worse by the sharp increase in asylum seekers. And the borough's supply is further squeezed by an overspill of homeless families from inner London boroughs.

The paper also suggests exporting homeless people outside London to areas of the country where there is a surplus of social housing.

Assistant director for housing and community care commissioning Peter West, who wrote the paper, said: "We are in a very, very serious situation."

He added: "We have got the same pressure as inner London boroughs but not the resources or supply to deal with it."

When asked if the borough may use parks as sites for the demountable homes West said: "We cannot ignore any options we are in a real crisis."

Sue Ellenby head of the London Housing Federation said: "The fact that London boroughs have got to consider such extreme measures is an illustration of the extent of the homelessness crisis in the capital - with a continuing rise in homelessness applications and the shortage of affordable housing."