Work completes on £730k accommodation project for Hexham's homeless

A housing association has announced that it has completed work on a Hexham building that will provide shelter for the homeless.

Karbon Homes has invested approximately £730k in a reconfiguration and refurbishment programme on Haugh Lane for StopGap Supported Housing, providing accommodation for up to 13 vulnerable and homeless people.

StopGap will lease the building from Karbon enabling it to build on its already existing homelessness service in Hexham.

Training, housing advice and other services will also be available to help residents get their lives back on track and move on to live independently in a home of their own.

Anthony Bell, assistant director of asset management and regeneration at Karbon Homes, commented: “This is a vital service which will provide high quality accommodation and support to homeless and vulnerable adults.

“We have invested significantly in reconfiguration and refurbishment of the building which has transformed it and will help those less fortunate to build a foundation for life.

“The project has taken longer than expected to complete due to the constraints with Covid-19 but we are delighted to finally deliver this scheme and help our partner, StopGap Supported Housing, to expand their existing homelessness service across the Tynedale area.

“I’d like to thank everyone involved in the successful delivery of this scheme and we hope it will help provide a temporary housing solution to those who will live here and will help them to move on to something more permanent.”

Andrew Sanders, chief executive of StopGap Supported Housing, commented: “We have been looking to expand our services for many years and thanks to Karbon Homes we now have a building that ensures we can provide high quality accommodation for more homeless and vulnerable adults.

“With improved facilities and grant funding from the National Lottery Community Fund, we can now increase the support services that are so important to help people get their lives back on track.

“The additional training and office space across one floor of the building means we have the opportunity to develop our activity and training programmes and, working with other agencies, offer wider education, employment and housing advice, helping both those who are homeless and those who are at risk of homelessness.”

The main contractor for the works was Surgo Construction.

Martin Blight, director at Surgo, added: “We are delighted to have completed this refurbishment project on behalf of both Karbon Homes and StopGap Supported Housing.

“We have been able to use our extensive experience to bring the building back into use, ready for occupation by some of the most vulnerable in our community and we hope it may lead to further opportunities to develop our working relationship with Karbon Homes in the future.”

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