Nuneaton Council House Regeneration Begins

Work has started to covert the Council House into Temporary Residential Units for homeless families.

In November 2018, the first tentative steps in transforming the Council House into Temporary Residential Units (TRUs) were taken.  Under the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017, it was immediately apparent that the council needed to acquire suitable temporary accommodation for those families unfortunate enough to find themselves homeless and the empty Council House was in a perfect location and ideally suited to the requirements and construction of TRUs.

On Monday 30th September 2019, the transformation started.  The team of construction professionals from Lovell Partnerships Limited moved in to commence operations.  From the outside there will be little to see, but inside will be a hive of activity.  There is much to be done across the four floors of the Council House to convert the office space into comfortable and secure TRUs.

Councillor Chris Watkins, Portfolio Holder for Housing and Communities spoke of the opportunities to assist homeless families that the restructuring and refurbishment will give the council. 

He said, “I am really pleased and excited that after several months of discussions and planning the regeneration of the Council House begins.  It will be a welcoming environment, somewhere for families who have become homeless to feel safe, to make new starts, to be able to look to the future without fearing the past. 

Our Third Sector Partners including the Voluntary and Community Organisations will also work closely with us to help those whose circumstances have made them homeless and we hope that we will enable them to face the future with confidence.

I cannot wait for this building to be ready for its first occupants, I think that Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council will be leading the way in innovative approaches to empty council buildings.”

Lovell’s Regional Refurbishment Director, Carl Yale agreed, saying,

“We are pleased to extend our working relationship with Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council and we are proud to be involved in delivering the council’s vision for safe and secure accommodation for homeless families.  The Council House is an ideal venue and lends itself to the concepts and construction of comfortable Temporary Residential Units.  Although there will be challenges ahead we are confident that our highly skilled teams will take them in their stride and create a “safe haven temporary accommodation unit” for many families far into the future.”