PLANS for a new homeless shelter in Chester are under way.

Cheshire West and Chester Council has informed residents in Boughton that a new supported accommodation facility for the homeless will be located on Christleton Road, Boughton, at the former Abbeyfield older people's home.

The council had purchased the site in summer 2021 and work is now under way on refurbishing the building to make it suitable to house people otherwise facing homelessness, while the council and partner agencies work with them to find more permanent accommodation.

It is planned for the site to provide a total of 12 rooms, and building work – which the council says has begun on the site, and is mostly internal – is expected to be completed by September 2022.

In a letter to residents, the council said: "The building...has been used as supported accommodation for many years and the council intends to continue using the building for this purpose.

"The building works are mainly internal and the contractors will endeavour to cause minimum noise and disturbance to neighbouring residents.

"During the coronavirus pandemic the Government's 'Everybody In' policy meant those who were homeless were placed in hotel accommodation. When the Government's policy came to an end, Cheshire West and Chester Council made the decision that it would continue to offer accommodation to everybody who needs it.

"Currently, more than 120 households are staying in hotels. This is not sustainable so we need to give people access to more stable living arrangements by developing new accommodations which are better suited to family life.

"Housing schemes like this make a massive difference to people's lives. They provide homes for people and families, keeping people safe and away from the danger of a life of homelessness.

"In the current climate of rising poverty and increasing economic uncertainty, the council's investment in this type of accommodation is more important than ever.

"There will also be staff on site 24 hours a day, seven days a week and we will provide individual support to the people living there to help them move on to permanent homes.

"The scheme will be managed by experienced staff from our partner forfutures, who run lots of facilities like this across the borough."