Decision details

The report sought to reconfigure 38-40 Grosvenor Place, Margate, a property in Thanet District Council’s General Fund. This will (subject to planning permission) transform an empty premises into 11 x 1-bed properties for temporary accommodation (TA) as well as providing a permanent base for the RISE service, which would move from Edgar Road in Cliftonville. The new RISE accommodation provided at 38-40 Grosvenor Place will include sleeping accommodation for up to 8 people. The anticipated cost of the conversion and refurbishment is £2.87m.

Cabinet agreed:

1.   That the Council approves the project to refurbish and reconfigure Grosvenor Place, at an estimated cost of £2.88m as outlined in this report;

2.   The letting of these homes will be in accordance with the Council’s Temporary Accommodation Policy, approved by Cabinet in July 2024;

3.   To note that the intention is to complete the project in two phases, with two separate planning applications.

The homes are much needed. Their creation is aligned with the cabinet report of December 2024 where it was agreed to fund the construction/acquisition of circa 170 properties for TA. The aim of the programme is to ensure that no household requiring TA has to be placed outside of the Thanet District. The programme will also reduce the cost to the council of providing TA. Additionally, the current facility being used by RISE at 10-14 Edgar Road was only ever a temporary arrangement and is no longer suitable. The conversion and refurbishment of 10-14 Edgar Road will be the subject of a separate report to Cabinet in the Spring. The Council values the intensive assistance that RISE offers vulnerable homeless people and has been seeking a permanent base for this important work for some time.

The Council considered a number of options here:

It could opt to not renovate this building, given that conversion costs are often more expensive than building or buying a brand new property. However, given its central Margate location, the fact it is already owned by the Council and that it is bringing an empty building back into good use this presents an excellent opportunity to remodel the building.

Choosing not to convert and refurbish the building would mean that the Council is at further financial risk from paying out for nightly-paid accommodation providers. The scheme represents not only the opportunity to have more control over the accommodation provided, but also the chance to obtain an income from these homes as well as the savings not paid out to the third-party accommodation provider.

The Council could look at disposing of the property - through a commercial sale - but that would be a missed opportunity to make use of and improve a prominent building in a good location.

One other option could be to utilise the building for other purposes, such as continued use as office accommodation or conversion to permanent residential accommodation. However, given the location and given the building’s potential for conversion to much-needed 1-bedroom homes, the recommended option is conversion and refurbishment for TA. With the careful thought and planning that will go into the way these homes are managed in-house by the Council, this project will provide good quality homes for those who need them most.