A SOMERSET homelessness charity will be purchasing existing homes to support homeless people across the county after plans for a new facility in Glastonbury were refused.

Bath-based Julian House applied in November 2023 to build four one-bedroom ‘move on’ units in the car park of St. Edmund’s Community Hall on the eastern edge of Glastonbury.

Somerset Council’s planning committee east unanimously voted to refuse permission in early June, arguing it would damage the hall’s viability and put existing residents of the Windmill Hill area at risk.

The charity, which provides support to around 2,000 people every year across the south west, has now revealed it is buying up four properties across the former Mendip district to provide supported accommodation for local people recovering from homelessness.

Each of the four properties will provide accommodation for single homeless people, who will be provided a support worker to help them get their lives back on track.

Up to £740,000 towards the cost of acquiring the properties will be provided by Homes England, funding which had originally been earmarked for the Glastonbury site.

Julian House chief executive Helen Bedser said: “We were disappointed when planning permission for modular homes was rejected, as we believe that the model presents a really innovative solution to the clear crisis of rough sleeping, homelessness, and housing insecurity in Somerset.

“There will probably never be a ‘perfect’ site for this project – but it is our job to give a voice to, and advocate for, people who have been through the terrible experience of homelessness and rough sleeping.

“Homelessness is devastating for individuals and families, but also the communities we live in.”

Rough sleeping in Somerset has risen by 19 per cent in a single year, according to recent government figures.

Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner MP announced £10m of emergency funding on Wednesday, November 6, to help local authorities provide direct support for the homeless this winter, on top of £233m within the Labour government’s first budget to tackle homelessness more strategically.

Ms Rayner said: “Anyone forced to sleep rough on our streets represents a complete failure of the broken system we’ve inherited. It’s a national disgrace, and we can’t keep sticking plasters on it.”

Somerset Council will receive £137,448 of this £10m allocation, but has not confirmed precisely how this will be spent in the coming weeks and months.

A spokesman said: “The funding is to help manage the additional winter pressures for rough sleepers so the money will be ring-fenced to this group of individuals.

“The specifics of how these monies will be used are actively being discussed.”

Ms Bedser said that she remained hopeful that modular housing could be delivered elsewhere in Somerset in the near-future to help tackling homelessness and the housing crisis.

She said: “There is such a high demand for housing in Somerset, and not enough homes to go around.”

“We are committed to investing in innovative solutions to the housing crisis and stand ready to work with the council and other partners to make it happen.”