With the help of a £1million grant from central government, Northumberland County Council is in the process of buying 12 homes for refugees who have been displaced and left homeless by war.  

The fund aims to reduce extra pressures on local housing and homelessness services so they can continue to provide for local people with housing needs. 

It is also an aim of the fund that this housing will in time support UK nationals. After initial use, the housing will be retained by the county council and create a lasting legacy for Northumberland by providing a new and permanent supply of accommodation to help address local housing pressures. 

Earlier in the year the council received a Local Authority Housing Fund (LAHF) grant award of £1,120,827 from the government. The fund is part of a £500m capital grant fund to support local authorities to provide housing for refugee families who have arrived through the Ukrainian and Afghan resettlement relocation schemes. 

Northumberland County Council is using the funding to purchase eight properties for Ukrainian families and to purchase four properties which will be allocated to Afghan households. These will be rented out at a social rent. 

This month the first Ukranian family - a mother and her daughter - moved into a property in Cramlington.  They fled from Kyiv when war broke out and have been living in rural Northumberland.  Their new home in a more populated area will have better transport links and job opportunities to help their independence. 

Northumberland County Councillor Colin Horncastle, cabinet member with responsibility for housing said: 

“The response within the county to the Homes for Ukraine scheme was overwhelming, and many communities came forward to host individuals and families in their own homes.    

Unfortunately we are now seeing rising numbers of refugee families presenting as homeless, or in threat of being homeless as their placements end and families struggle with the rising cost of living, overcrowding and a shortage of rental housing. 

“The statutory responsibility to provide accommodation if refugees become homeless when in the county rests with the council.  

“The housing the council is purchasing will reduce the emergency and temporary accommodation costs incurred by the council in housing refugees. It will also provide a longer-term accommodation solution whilst giving them the chance to integrate with the local community and play a part in community life.” 

The council is contributing the matched funding which is required as part of the funding agreement. 

Councillor Horncastle added: “The funding to provide new housing will help the county’s humanitarian duties while ultimately providing a lasting legacy by increasing the supply of council owned accommodation available for the future.”