A bus shelter designed to house the Isle of Wight’s homeless population still does not have its own permanent home — almost a year after the IW Council promised to help find a suitable place.
The Isle of Wight Bus Shelter was originally situated at Seaclose Park, Newport, but moved from the site during the Isle of Wight Festival in June 2017 and has not reopened due to difficulties finding an appropriate site.
The bus has now been left to rust, unused and sat at a site in Sandown.
Sell for scrap or move to mainland
Its manager, Karl Print, said if the problem was not resolved soon, he would have no choice but to sell the bus for scrap or move it to the mainland.
In January 2018, the full council promised to support in the search for a suitable site.
The charity provides people with a place to sleep, as well as food and clothing on its unique bus, which was manned by volunteers.
Homeless figures “not accurate picture”
According to Isle of Wight Council figures, the Island needs provision for six homeless people a night, however, Karl Print said this did not give an accurate picture of the situation.
Mr Print said:
“I know of at least 12 people in Newport alone, and in Ryde the problem is much worse.
“The figures the council have stated are not inline with the current trend.”
Mr Print said the figure likely related to how many people were approaching the council for help, but this was not always an accurate measure of homelessness.
He said:
“Those individuals will not approach the authorities, and this has made tackling the problem difficult in the past.
“The very sad fact is the council is providing bare minimum services.”
He said he had raised the issue with the council but had been ignored.
No response from Mosdell
The cabinet member for adult social care, and mental health champion, Cllr Clare Mosdell, did not respond to repeated requests for comment on the issue.
Independent councillor, Cllr Ian Stephens, questioned leader of the Isle of Wight council, Cllr Dave Stewart, about the bus shelter, during a full council meeting in November.
In response, Cllr Stewart said:
“Unfortunately, for a number of reasons, it has not been possible to identify a site, and subsequent to a meeting, the Bus Shelter confirmed it was investigating the use of a site in Sandown.”
Winter night shelter
Currently, homeless people on the Isle of Wight can attend the Salvation Army night shelter in Newport, which is open from December to March.
The Salvation Army has no plans to open a permanent shelter, but said it would review this decision at the end of March. They said they had not been approached by the Bus Shelter to discuss the possibility of working together.
A spokesperson said:
“The Salvation Army values partnership working and has a proven track record of this within our homelessness portfolio across the UK Territory with the Republic of Ireland.
“Our door is always open to discuss ways of supporting the most vulnerable people in society.”
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which OnTheWight is taking part in. Some additions by OnTheWight. Ed
