A homeless charity says it faces a "challenging winter" as a council calls for more government aid to bring an end to rough sleeping in the Dover district by 2025.

Kent's largest homeless charity, Porchlight, is lobbying for a "welfare system" to be introduced to protect families from a predicted long-term Covid related homelessness problem.

Chris Burgess, Porchlight’s head of homelessness services, said: “As we move into the coldest months of the year, the government needs to act fast to stop any more people from being driven onto the streets.

"We are working closely with Dover District Council (DDC) to prevent people from losing their homes and acting quickly if they do become homeless.

"But our services are already under a huge amount of pressure and with greater numbers of people needing urgent support, we’re facing a very challenging winter."

On Monday, a homelessness and rough sleeping action plan was unveiled by DDC as the Conservatives seek to improve the quality of housing for homeless families in the district, including Deal, Sandwich and Whitfield.

Cllr Derek Murphy (Con), the authority's portfolio holder for housing, has described rough sleeping as the "worst form" of homelessness as demand rises for much more accommodation.

Bids will be put forward for more government funding for homeless help schemes as costs have grown for councils to provide temporary homes. In Dover this has jumped from around £208,000 in 2014 to £747,000 in 2019.

This comes as demand for accommodation has increased. It rose from 49 homeless families in Dover in 2014 to 170 in 2019. Around 27 rough sleepers in the district have been placed in shelter since Covid struck the UK in March.

Some of the main causes include tenant evictions, low incomes, rising rent prices and lack of affordable housing. It has been suggested that cuts to local public services has led to less support being made to vulnerable adults locally.

Dover council has also pledged to increase the number of private rented accommodation for homeless families, through rent guarantor schemes.

Nationally, the number of people living in temporary accommodation across England has risen by 37%, from 58,933 in 2013 to 93,000 in 2020. This has increased "dramatically" in recent years in Dover, says a council report.

"In the longer term there is a possibility of more families losing their homes in the aftermath of the pandemic..."

Under this, the number of rough sleepers living on UK streets has almost doubled from 2,414 people in 2013 to 4,266 in 2019.

At the time, Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on all local authorities to help meet the Government's target of ending rough sleeping by 2025 and agreed a national package of £260m, but Dover council says more funding is needed.

In the action plan, Cllr Murphy says: "In the longer term there is a possibility of more families losing their homes in the aftermath of the pandemic.

"The stress and strain of it may also result in greater numbers of relationship breakdowns leading to homelessness.".

Dover councillors will decide whether to approve the draft action plan next Monday (Jan 11) from 11am during a virtual public meeting.

If approved, residents will be asked to have their say in an eight week consultation, which will run until March 2021.

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