New Housing Accommodation For 45 To Be Built At The Fells, Durham As £1.8m Grant Awarded By Homes & Communities Agency

“It is really encouraging to see central Government investing in the North East in this way; placing confidence and responsibility in organisations from the region which have ability to tackle issues and challenges within the region and come up with solutions.”

Brian Manning, CEO, Esh Group

An innovative joint proposal from The Cyrenians and Esh Group to redevelop County Durham’s principal facility which supports people who are vulnerable, homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, has been rewarded by one of the largest grants to be made outside London by the coalition Government’s Homelessness Change Programme.

The £1.8m grant, 5% of this fund allocated by the Homes & Communities Agency, will fund Phase 2 of the comprehensive remodelling and rebuilding of The Fells, a 4.2-hectare site near Plawsworth, 5 miles north west of Durham City.

Acquired by The Cyrenians in early 2009 The Fells, as it was then renamed, provides 100% of Co. Durham’s direct access supply for single homeless people aged over 18 years. Whilst the Cyrenians has invested over £1.1m in the site to date, the original chalet-style accommodation was poorly constructed and is now in severe need of attention. Independent surveys have shown that significant structural problems would not be cost effective to tackle. Of the 65 rooms on site, 20 are uninhabitable.

Stephen Bell, Chief Executive of The Cyrenians explained:

“We are delighted to have been awarded this grant of £1.8m from the Homes & Communities Agency. We believe this is the largest single award made as part of the Homeless Change Programme we are very proud that the Government has recognised our ability to achieve lasting success in helping to turn people’s lives around and has entrusted us with this responsibility.

“As the sole provider of emergency accommodation for County Durham – and with up to date and worrying statistics which demonstrate a growing need – we understand how essential it is that The Fells continues to become an effective ‘place of change’. We aim to replicate the success of our other projects; places, which are demonstrably successful in tackling addictions and dependency, providing practical life and employability skills training and getting people into work wherever possible.

“We are very much looking forward to progressing this project with our partners, Esh Group, and together really making a difference for County Durham and beyond.”

The Cyrenians will deliver a three tier integrated programme which has been proven to be successful in developing skills and abilities necessary for independent living at The Fells.

Glyn Hall, Head of Housing Services at Durham County Council said:

“Over the last six years, The Cyrenians has demonstrated an excellent track record in creating and delivering highly effective and responsive services throughout the North East.

“Working closely with the Housing Solutions Services team at the County Council together we move almost half of those who seek help and support into independent living arrangements.

“Whilst this figure still, of course, needs to improve, we have every confidence that these innovative proposals from The Cyrenians and their construction partners, Esh Group are an additional important step in achieving that aim.”

Brian Manning, Chief Executive of Esh Group, The Cyrenians construction partner in the scheme, continued:

“It is really encouraging to see central Government investing in the North East in this way; placing confidence and responsibility in organisations from the region which have ability to tackle issues and challenges within the region and come up with solutions.”

“We have contributed our extensive experience via Esh Property Services, our social and affordable housing construction experts, at the design stage. We believe that the new style of accommodation will be significantly better for both residents and managers alike and that these new surroundings will give The Cyrenians’ clients real personal pride and motivation to progress.”

The Cyrenians Three Tier Programme for Homelessness Change includes:

Tier 1 - Crisis

A 17 bed direct access assessment centre providing high level support with confidential meeting spaces for one to one sessions, time-out space in which aggravated residents can be separated and given time to become calm and a supervised recovery room, an alternative to expensive hospital bed space. Residence will be for a maximum of 6 months and will a platform for independent living either in the next tier of service or alternatively in the local community.

Tier 2 - Recovery

Clients moved onto this tier will be stable in their behaviour yet still require significant input from staff to engage. 20 units arranged in 4 semi-independent clusters of 5 bedrooms with communal kitchens and dining areas to allow service users to cook for themselves. Support will include developing living and budgeting skills and linking clients into communal activities on site and/or opportunities within the local community. This provision will be for 12 months maximum.