WEST Devon Borough Council has launched a public consultation on a joint homeless strategy with South Hams council and would like to hear the public’s views.

All local authorities have a duty to review homelessness in their area and publish a strategy that outlines how they intend to tackle and prevent homelessness.

The strategy, in its draft format, has been developed with officers, elected members and organisations who work closely with people in housing crisis. It sets out both councils’ priorities and plans for the next five years, from 2017 to 2022. 

The four key priorities of both councils are understanding the true cost of homelessness, access to services, access to housing and health and wellbeing.

The public, interested organisations and stakeholders are all invited to contribute opinions and ideas to the draft strategy before it goes back to councillors.  The consultation will run until February 13 with an anticipated adoption date of April 1, 2017.  

To complement these priorities there is also an action plan which will be refreshed every year. This sets out the activities for the next 12 months for tackling homelessness.

Actions include looking at continuing the No Second Night Out Service for people rough sleeping in the area, developing a ‘crash pad’ model for young single homeless people and investigating the feasibility of a tiny houses project.

Cllr Lois Samuel, West Devon Borough Council’s lead member for health and wellbeing, explained the importance of a homelessness strategy in a rural area: ‘In a rural area like West Devon, homelessness can sometimes go undetected but it is a very real problem which continually needs to be addressed.

‘We recognise the challenges many of our most vulnerable people face when dealing with homelessness and, together with South Hams District Council, I believe the four priorities we have set out and the actions we are looking to take, will begin to overcome the difficulties many deal with when faced with homelessness.

‘Please take the time to read our strategy and action plan and comment through the consultation. We would like to hear your comments and ideas so we can consider your views and review and finalise the strategy before we put it before members for adoption.’

Cllr Hilary Bastone, South Hams District Council’s portfolio holder for Customer First, said: ‘Since 2012, we have prevented over a thousand households from becoming homeless due to interventions put in place by the district council. In partnership working, we can set out our ambitions to tackle homelessness in West Devon and the South Hams to an even greater degree.

‘Homelessness can happen to anyone, at any time and through this strategy we aim to make sure people receive the help they need to prevent homelessness from happening.’

If you wish to contribute, visit the consultation pages on the South Hams and West Devon websites to answer the questions in the survey. They can be found at www.westdevon.gov.uk and www.southhams.gov.uk