Plans for new Liverpool rough sleeping shelter approved on Smithdown Lane
The proposals will see a student housing block converted
14:46, 16 MAR 2021
Updated
Proposals for a new accommodation centre for rough sleepers have been approved.
Liverpool Council’s planning committee gave the green light to plans to convert a student housing block on Smithdown Lane on the edge of the city centre.
The move will see the number of bedrooms in the building reduced from 64 to 59 to house rough sleepers as well as staff for the centre. The proposals are part of a much wider overhaul of the council’s homelessness and rough sleeping policies and provision in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Dan Whelan
The city council is requesting approval to convert a student accommodation block on Smithdown Lane east of the city centre into apartments for homeless people.
The five-storey Smithdown Court can accommodate 59 people and would replace the authority’s former Rough Sleeping Night Hub, Labre House, on Camden Street.
Labre House, which has dormitory-style sleeping arrangements, was closed during the pandemic to curb the spread of Covid-19.
Those using the facility were relocated to more suitable alternative accommodation in the short term but the council has now confirmed that Labre House will not reopen after the pandemic.
As a result, a facility with self-contained bedrooms is required to make up for the shortfall of bed spaces.