Concern over hotel use as emergency accommodation

Plans to formalise the use of two hotels in a North Yorkshire seaside resort as emergency accommodation have left residents concerned, councillors will be told.

The Redcliffe Hotel and The Lodge in Scarborough would officially become mixed-use sites if applications by Homemore Ltd are approved at a meeting later this week.

The firm delivers emergency temporary accommodation for adults, in partnership with local authorities and statutory services, before they move to more permanent housing.

However, neighbours have already lodged several objections to the application for the Redcliffe Hotel, which follows several years of complaints about antisocial behaviour from residents.

In March, Scarborough and Whitby MP Alison Hume held a meeting with Homemore at another hotel.

At the meeting she said the company had put measures in place to "limit any disturbance caused to their neighbours".

"They work closely with the police too, who regularly patrol the vicinity and constantly review their Problem-Solving Plan for the surrounding area," she said.

Hume also encouraged residents to "report all disturbances or concerns to police", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The applications for The Lodge, on Valley Road, and the Redcliffe, on Prince of Wales Terrace, sought to regularise the use of the properties, which were currently being used as emergency accommodation, councillors are expected to be told.

The mixed use of hotel and emergency accommodation would provide flexibility as "both uses can operate using the existing accommodation", Homemore said in its application.

"There is strong demand for the accommodation offered by Homemore in Scarborough, which reflects the situation across England where demand for emergency accommodation remains very high, with the number of households in temporary accommodation being at record levels," it stated.

Homemore describes itself as a "specialist housing provider delivering temporary accommodation for adults, young people and families".

Both applications are due to discussed by Scarborough Town Council's planning committee on 2 July.

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