Shipping containers 'used to house homeless children'

I thnk the unpopular so-called 'bedroom tax' was suposed to encourage people to downsize so that larger council properties became available for families, vickymeldrew and people on their own could downsize

Whatever governments try to do, it's going to be unpopular with some!

www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/25/england-has-more-than-200000-empty-homes-how-to-revive-them

Dare I suggest that part of the problem is people living in council housing for life, regardless of improving circumstances. In France if your income grows then your rent increases which is an encouragement to move on and allow your subsidised accommodation to be passed on to someone more in need.

I suppose it's the cost of doing them up and then maintaining them.

I wasn't suggesting the occupants did them up Dinahmo, I just mentioned the scheme and wondered why Councils do not do them up.

If shipping containers are converted then surely they will be properly vented?
The ones I have seen are.
Carbon monoxide poisoning would occur if the boiler is faulty in any type of building.

The houses that are sold off for £1 are in a pretty poor condition and attract young couples who have the energy to be able to do the renovations. My DH and I renovated a house in London when we were in our 30's (no children). This house had closing orders on it which meant that it was soon to be condemned. We had to live in it whilst we did it up which took several years. I don't think those sort of houses are suitable for people living in temporary accommodation.

rosecarmel I thought you lived in the USA? Perhaps I have that wrong.

But if so, I thought that many Americans lived in trailer parks and even worse sub-standard housing?

There are still prefabs dotted around the country. There is a small group on the outskirts of Ipswich. They are popular with the people who live in them and they have decent sized gardens, unlike the handkerchief sized plots that abound in new housing estates today.

As EV and gillybob have said (and perhaps others too) what is wrong with renovating properties? Surely it would be cheaper than building new, it will not use up more land, they could be in areas where there are already schools etc?

Some councils are selling homes for £1 but then the buyers have to take out a loan (from the Council I think) to renovate that house and have to agree to live in it for a certain period of time.

I don't know the details about whether or not these councils already own the properties or have purchased them. Surely better for councils to do this than buy shipping containers then pay out money to have them converted?

I do agree, though, that in an emergency and for a limited time, these would be preferable to one room in a b&b for a family.
I have been in these converted shipping containers, not in this country though.

I've gone and done it - read another thread on the news/politics forum when I was not going to bother any more.
But -
Yet again, someone has tried to put her comment into perspective to explain a point, only to get vilified for it.

That's not strictly true David. We have homes lying empty across the country - we could address the shortage that we have by looking at how we use them. We could also review the type of housing that is being built to ensure it meets local need as opposed to maximising the developers' profit margins and we could do something about the land banks they own. That's just a couple of examples - I'm sure others can come up with some. It's a fallacy to say we simply need to keep building new homes.

A couple of weeks ago we visited a building museum and they had a 1950s prefab, that was about the size of 2 shipping containers. Insulated and heated they could be very cosy in just the same way that a Park Home is but much cheaper and more robust. Sited properly they need not be a shanty town and could have all the facilities for children.
As Emergency accommodation they would be much better than B&B, there is no chance whatever of permanent homes being built fast enough. While net migration is 250,000 per year are we ever going to have enough homes

Anniebach They could - it was in a very expensive village in Hampshire - very twee, beautiful stone houses.

Sadly it is for some poor souls Lessismore

I don't know why this is such a shock to people. I was talking to a lady the other day at the foodbank ( not *virtue signaling*), her children were wearing shorts and scratching their legs.

It transpires the accomodation is full of fleas.

Hunger, fleas, kids not attending school because they have no clothes or sanitary wear....everyday life.

growstuff, I appreciate your personal transparency and experience- And I agree divorce is a catalyst that sends lives spiraling - I've been there myself and understand all too well-

There is a rising homeless crisis here in the US that stems from in large part from corporate practices, practices that became legal as laws were enacted as the relationship between business and government became enmeshed-

People lose their flats due to sizeable, legal rent hikes- When they can't secure another place to live near their jobs they eventually lose their jobs and as a rule their health insurance as well-

Shipping containers can be used to create innovative homes- But they are death traps when not vented properly- They're so tightly sealed that any type of heat source used within them can create toxic levels of carbon monoxide-

Exactly Chenjin

Maybe the single mothers (any single fathers there?) don't want to clean or childmind. Maybe - god forbid - they have other jobs or go to university and college?

Perhaps the locals can’t affordcleaners/homehelp/childminders

Containers have been used to house homeless in my home city for quite a while now, but as far as I am aware they are only used for single people not families.

Does it really matter why someone becomes homeless? What is important is finding decent homes for them.

A close friend of mine used to be run a housing association down on the south coast. Its original aim was to provide homes for single mothers. She told me about a public meeting that had been arranged in order to discuss the proposed development of a former school. Needless to say the scheme was heartily rejected by the locals. My first reaction, upon hearing about this, being a bit of a cynic, was where do these locals think they are going to get their cleaners/home helps/childminders from if they object to this development going ahead?

Jane10 - I agree. Are they really the worst things? They're used across the world very successfully and go for thousands on ebay.

The issue of homelessness is not one that is being taken seriously enough by any of the UK Govts and that certainly needs to be looked at, but I'm just not sure that container housing as a short term measure (providing it is short term - see the earlier part of this sentence) is the so bad.

As for why are people homeless - engage your brain Rosie and do a bit of research (the Daily Mail and similar right wing rags don't count)

I have said a million times on Gransnet (okay so slight exaggeration) that the current council tax system is very wrong! With the poorest people in the poorest areas being forced to pay the very highest levels .

Jane10 Using a container for an office by someone who can afford to make the necessary changes is different to using containers for the homeless. If you watch George Clarke's Amazing Small Spaces you will see more than one development that has used containers. The one I particularly remember used 2 containers endways on. It was designed by George's sidekick Will Hardy and the conversion was done by Will's team. Very nice it was too.

A lady was quoted on the news this morning as having to sleep with the container door open at night because it was too hot for her and her baby. These containers aren't placed in some nice location.

Growstuff I'm sorry to hear about your earlier problems and I hope that they have been sorted.

RosieLeah There are apparently around 210,000 children/young people who are living in temporary accommodation right now. This problem started with Thatcher selling off council houses. Nothing wrong with that but the councils weren't allowed to use the money raised to build more social housing. So of course we can blame the Tories.

So much of what has gone wrong during the last 10 years can be laid at the Tories door.

Back in the late 60s a friend did voluntary work for St Mungo's, a charity in London for the homeless. I remember her telling me about one of the people she came across. His marriage had fallen apart, he'd lost his job and ended up homeless. I can't remember more details but it was a long time ago. That memory has always stayed with me - that many people are homeless not through choice. There but for the grace of God etc etc.

Unfortunately many people are housed in unsuitable accommodation. Tower blocks for example. There are former council blocks in Clapham for example, sold off to developers who turned them into bijou residences for couples/singles with sports facilities, porters etc etc. Very nice too, but not for families with children who were previously housed in them.

These problems go back to Thatcher and the sale of council houses. Nothing wrong with that except that the councils didn't plough the money back in to social housing because they weren't allowed to.