A SWINDON homelessness charity boss has queried the success of a council winter housing shelter project, as councillors discuss its return

Graeme Willis, chief executive of Threshold, said the temporary shelter at the former Carfax Medical Centre failed to live up to its aim as a place for rough sleepers with the most complex needs.

In a memorandum sent to the borough’s housing scrutiny committee seen by the Adver, Mr Willis said: “Over 30 referrals were made but a target group was selected with generally lower support needs due to the lack of skilled support staff and the reliance on inexperienced volunteers.”

Of the 36 referrals to the project, only 12 were accepted and five placed in housing when the Carfax shelter closed.

“Less than half of the accepted cohort was therefore offered suitable and long term accommodation,” Mr Willis said.

“The promised support from CGL and Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust (the drugs and mental health agencies) did not materialise to any real degree and concerns have been raised as to the effectiveness of ongoing support to those who were accommodated.”

However, he praised the huge effort made by Swindon Borough Council and voluntary organisations involved in the scheme. Mr Willis added: “The provision did succeed in providing temporary accommodation to most of those that it accepted.”

The council was last month awarded £195,000 by the government to try to end rough sleeping by 2027.

Threshold welcomed the rough sleeping ambition, but said that the new cash would only serve to cover what has been cut from homelessness projects as part of council austerity schemes.

The borough says the number of rough sleepers is falling, after a high of 45 was recorded at a census last winter. However, Mr Willis claimed his outreach workers were still regularly seeing up to 50 rough sleepers in Swindon. “Without additional facilities and a coherent strategy these numbers will continue to rise,” he said.

Council chiefs last month launched a new policy paper as a prelude to developing a strategy to reduce rough sleeping in Swindon’s town centre.

Cathy Martyn, cabinet member for housing, said the borough was looking at developing a new day centre and locker facilities for rough sleepers.

Mike Ash, Swindon Borough Council’s head of housing services, said: “The council welcomes feedback on both the emerging Rough Sleeper Reduction Strategy and the specific concerns Mr Willis has. Full feedback on the Winter Provision will be presented to Cabinet in July. The Council’s partners and voluntary sector are supportive of the approach, with this one exception.

“All of the guests who completed the programme at the Winter Provision were offered accommodation and the majority continue to maintain their tenancies. The council recognises ‘Housing First’ as a model that is still developing nationally and there is scope to learn from all approaches, including Swindon’s own experience and its plans for future provision. The Council is delighted to have been awarded funding of just under £200,000 which is in no small part down to the innovation and courage shown by our partners to try something new.”