ALMOST 600 households were living in temporary accommodation in Wrexham and Flintshire as of March 2024, amid concerns over the "housing crisis". 

New research by leading Welsh charities, the Bevan Foundation and Shelter Cymru has cast light on the extent of Wales’ homelessness crisis and the impact it is having on people and families.

Across Wales, the number of households living in temporary accommodation increased by 18% in the year to March 2024, meaning that one in every 215 households currently live in temporary accommodation.

In Flintshire, there were 279 households in temporary accommodation during that time frame with 177 being situated in B&B's, 42 in hostels, 27 in private accommodation and 21 in council accommodation.

In Wrexham, there were 306 households living in temporary accommodation in the year to March 2024. 168 of those were based in local authority housing, 105 in B&B's and 33 in private accommodation. 

Between January and June 2024 there were 942 occurrences of people being placed into temporary accommodation in Wrexham, while it was 249 in Flintshire.

The new research, published today (September 19), highlights particular concerns about the impact of temporary accommodation on children.

Nearly 3,000 children are living in temporary accommodation in Wales with their family, that’s nearly 6 in every 1,000 children (3,143), with a third of these having been stuck in temporary accommodation for over a year.

With nearly 1,000 more households in temporary accommodation at the end of 2023/24 than at its beginning (966) and with only 30% of households successfully moved into suitable permanent housing during the year, the charities are calling for the Welsh Government to act urgently to give people a hope of home by boosting the supply of social housing.

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Wendy Dearden, senior policy and research officer, Bevan Foundation said: “The human cost of our housing crisis is clear in the growing numbers with nowhere permanent to call home.

"We recognise that local authorities are doing the best that they can to help people, but a shortage of affordable homes for them to move onto is putting huge pressure on the system.”

Robin White, head of campaigns, Shelter Cymru said: “Today’s report makes for harrowing reading, but what it says comes as no surprise.

"These are the stories we hear every day from the people coming to us for help, people who need a safe, secure, suitable and genuinely affordable social home but who are left with temporary accommodation as the only option because of a system that simply isn’t working.

"We know local authorities don’t want to be reliant on B&Bs and other expensive, short-term solutions. That’s why we need the Welsh Government to make tackling the housing emergency a cross-government priority and invest further in providing the social homes Wales desperately needs.”

A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “Tackling homelessness and delivering more homes is a key priority for this government and we have set a challenging target and allocated record levels of funding this Senedd term, with more than £1.4bn invested so far.

“The increase in people being supported with temporary accommodation reflects the ongoing pressures within the system and the effects of the cost-of-living crisis on individuals and households.

“Despite the challenges, we continue to take a ‘no-one left out’ approach in Wales and, this year alone, are investing almost £220m in homelessness prevention and housing support to help reduce the flow of people needing temporary accommodation.”

Wrexham and Flintshire Councils were approached for comments.