Helping residents keep their homes, reducing rough sleeping and supporting families into settled accommodation are at the heart of proposals from Newark and Sherwood District Council.
At the Council’s Cabinet on Tuesday 10 November, Councillors agreed to the latest Homelessness Prevention and Rough Sleeping Action Plan for 2026/27 and a new Temporary Accommodation Policy. Together, they set out how the Council, and its partners identify housing problems early, improve support and help residents access accommodation that meets their needs.
The proposals build on the Council’s Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Prevention Strategy 2024–2029 and reflect updated national guidance. They respond to continuing pressures on households, including housing affordability, the loss of private rented accommodation, relationship breakdown and the cost of living.
A key focus is preventing homelessness before it happens. Proposed actions include making better use of information to identify households at risk, exploring additional support to help people sustain their tenancies, and considering how family mediation could help young people and families experiencing relationship breakdown.
The plan also places greater emphasis on reducing the impact of homelessness on children, helping families move from temporary accommodation into settled homes and working with housing providers to improve access to affordable housing.
Councillor Lee Brazier, Portfolio Holder for Housing at Newark and Sherwood District Council, said:
Homelessness is a devastating situation to be in. No one should be without a home, and it can have a damaging effect on people’s health and wellbeing.
We are always looking at what more we can do and by intervening earlier, we can prevent homelessness happening in the first place. The plan for 2027-28 sets out how we will focus on identifying risks in households and offering support to those families through family mediation.
This builds up on the good work we already do to help prevent rough sleeping. In the last few years, we have improved access to and sustainment of tenancies, enabled Citizens Advice Nottinghamshire Central and South to provide a Debt and Welfare Advice Service and taken the lead in developing a Prison Leavers Protocol and panel meetings throughout Nottinghamshire. We've also developed additional supported housing for rough sleepers with higher and more complex needs following a successful bid to the Next Steps Accommodation Programme and delivered Alexander Lodge, providing modern, award winning temporary accommodation provision.
The District Council remains absolutely committed to preventing rough sleeping wherever we can and to making sure people are living in safe conditions. If you find yourself with nowhere to live or are at risk of being made homeless, please get in touch with us on 01636 650 000 so we can help.
Work to tackle rough sleeping includes reviewing and recommissioning prevention and support services, continuing street outreach and strengthening coordination between housing, health and other support services. The plan sets targets to reduce the number of people recorded sleeping rough on a single night from six in autumn 2025 to two by autumn 2028, and long-term rough sleeping from three people in November 2025 to one by November 2028.
The new approved Temporary Accommodation Policy sets out how accommodation is be allocated, managed and assessed for suitability. Decisions take account of each household’s circumstances, including health, affordability, children’s education, caring responsibilities and access to support networks. The Council seeks to provide accommodation within Newark and Sherwood wherever reasonably practicable, although suitable placements outside the district may sometimes be necessary.
Feedback from households with lived experience of homelessness and temporary accommodation has helped shape the policy. Safety being their strongest priority, alongside accommodation condition, affordability and access to essential services and support networks. Respondents also highlighted the importance of clear communication, particularly when a move between temporary accommodation placements is proposed.
The new policy and latest action plan will be added to the Council website in the next few weeks.
