Homeless facility in Yeovil town centre to close in March

A homeless facility for up to 30 people will close next year.

The Pathways facility on Newton Road in Yeovil is run by the Bournemouth Churches Housing Association (BCHA) under a contract from South Somerset District Council.

The council confirmed on Friday that the site will officially close on 31 March 2023.

It added that it is working on a plan of support to ensure those affected will have a place to stay.

BCHA chief operating officer Caroline Moylan said: "We will be working closely with the council to look at alternative models and homes for existing and new customers within the Yeovil community."

BCHA was appointed to run the facility in 2020 and was granted £390,000 by the council in June 2021 to fund the purchase of a replacement site, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. 

They have been working since then to find alternative accommodation for homeless people and rough sleepers.

Plans were submitted to convert the former Acacia Lodge care home on Hendford Hill into a new homeless facility, providing accommodation for up to 39 people at any one time.

But those proposals were unanimously refused by the council's area south committee in August, with residents likening the designs to a "concentration camp" and a former police officer describing it as "a drug-dealer's-paradise".

Despite this refusal, council leader Val Keitch said the Pathways closure would proceed, with a focus on finding smaller units of accommodation for those in need.

She said: "This news will understandably be very unsettling for Pathways residents and staff, and we want to reassure them and our communities that we are committed to ensuring that everyone has a safe and warm roof over their head.

"Our priority at this time remains on searching for alternative premises, with a focus on exploring and securing smaller units of accommodation as the preferred option, while we continue to assist people into suitable accommodation as appropriate."

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