Making vacant buildings within Oxford available for the use as temporary homeless shelters

Proposed by Councillor Thomas, seconded by Councillor Simmons

Green member motion

Recognising:

•        the growing number of individuals sleeping on our streets;

•        the dangers of sleeping rough;

•        the significant number of long and short-term vacant buildings within the city [1];

•        the potential to move on with their lives and off the street (into permanent accommodation and employment) that a period of stable and safe accommodation could offer many of those current sleeping rough;

The Council requests the City Executive Board to commission and give consideration to an urgent report that would enable the City Council to:

•        Make policy that allows for all vacant City Council owned buildings – including commercial premises - to be made freely available for use as temporary homeless shelters, to be run by community charity and voluntary organisations that are able and willing to do so [2];

•        Encourage other parties with similarly vacant buildings – particularly Oxford University and Oxford Colleges  – to make those buildings available to be utilised as part of this initiative; 

•        Publicises the availability of relevant vacant buildings to the voluntary and community sector, and calls for expressions of interest from the community to operate these spaces;

•        Assist in the co-ordination of the provision of key “wrap-around” services to residents making use of the temporary accommodation;

•        Make preparations for this at the earliest possible time, and offers clear guidance frameworks and assistance to all interested parties;

•        Sets terms of reference for use of spaces, conditions of use, and clearly sets out the arrangements for reclaiming possession of the relevant premises when circumstances require it [3]

[1] As witnessed by the on-going, serial occupation of empty premises being organised by the 'Open House' project

[2] Recent experience of Iffley Open House that the willingness and capacity for such an undertaking exists within Oxford’s voluntary community

[3] For example, Iffley Open House was vacated without issue on a date agreed between the free-holder and the homeless community.

Councillor Thomas proposed his submitted motion.

He said he would accept Councillor Rowley’s submitted amendment provided Councillor Rowley agreed a further minor amendment (read out at the meeting as ‘the Council requests the City Executive Board to commission a report from officer to be submitted to the Board no later than September 2017 on the process and procedures that could be used to make empty properties available for use as temporary homeless shelters’).

Councillor Rowley agreed to this change and Councillor Thomas then proposed his submitted motion as amended.

Councillor Simmons seconded the amended motion.

After debate and on being put to the vote, the amended motion was declared carried.

Council resolved to agree the following motion:

Recognising:

•        the growing number of individuals sleeping on our streets;

•        the dangers of sleeping rough;

•        the significant number of long and short-term vacant buildings within the city;

•        the potential to move on with their lives and off the street (into permanent accommodation and employment) that a period of stable and safe accommodation could offer many of those current sleeping rough;

The Council requests the City Executive Board to commission a report from officers to be submitted no later than September 2017 on the processes and procedures that could be used to make empty properties available for use as temporary homeless shelters.