Former duke's Plymouth mansion to be homeless shelter

Part of a mansion built for a duke is being turned into a shelter for rough-sleepers in Plymouth.

The city council has given planning permission for a winter night shelter at Hamoaze House in Mount Wise.

The listed building, built in 1795 for the Duke of Richmond, is owned by a charity and now used as a day centre for people recovering from alcohol and drug addiction.

The shelter will open from October to the end of March for five years.

It replaces a temporary shelter which is no longer available at the Stonehouse Community Centre in Kings Road, Devonport, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The new unit is in the ground floor of the east wing of Hamoaze House and for people aged 18 or over with a connection to Plymouth.

It has two rooms with camp beds for up to 12 people, a toilet, office and private outdoor space.

The shelter will be managed by Bournemouth Churches Housing Association for the Plymouth Alliance, a group of statutory and voluntary organisations providing a range of support services.

Councillors were told there had been a downward trend in the number of people rough-sleeping and experiencing homelessness.