Development is 'game-changing' for city's homeless

The head of a homeless charity has hailed a development that will create 24 new homes for rough sleepers or those who have fallen on tough times.

Rob Saggs, chief executive of Chess, based in Chelmsford, said the pre-made modular homes would "ramp up" what they are able to offer homeless people.

And he addressed rumours that the properties, being built on the site of a former motel between the city and the village of Stock, would house asylum seekers.

He said: "I have seen some things on social media saying it's going to be for X, Y and Z, but that's not going to be the case, it is a local service for local people."

The development features pre-built apartments stacked on top of each other and takes the number of bed spaces the charity can offer up to 80.

Originally featuring a yellow façade and now painted blue, the self-contained units feature a fully fitted kitchen, utility cupboard, lounge diner, bedroom and bathroom.

Mr Saggs, 53, who has been with the charity for 14 years, said the new development would help tackle the growing problem of homelessness in the city.

He said: "It's a massive challenge, before the pandemic we would have a waiting list of about 15 people, and we had 32-bed spaces available.

"We actually increased to 66 bed spaces during the pandemic, but those waiting to come in increased to 24 people, and now we're going to have 80 bed spaces, but we have 50 to 60 people waiting to come into our service now."

Mr Saggs said: "We obviously are working as a local charity for local people and there is a muddying of the waters around immigration.

"We've been operating in Chelmsford since the mid 90s and I look at this as a game-changer for us."

The development is in part funded by the government and is set to be finished by the middle of April.

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