Housing site proved a ‘recipe for disaster’

Properties in Maxmill Park have been used to house people who need emergency accommodation for a variety of reasons.

But it is no longer “fit for purpose” according to Kelso & District councillor Euan Robson, who wants to see the council sell off the site and redevelop it or standard housing.

Councillor Robson would then like to see the profits invested in more appropriate homeless accommodation.

He said: “What you get over the years are periods when there is an outbreak of anti-social behaviour and then it all quietens down because people move on to permanent accommodation.

“It would be good if the council sold it for ordinary residential development because it was never a good location.

“I think probably the best thing would be to demolish the existing buildings because I don’t think they’re fit for purpose and sold it for ordinary residential use and the money invested into the need for temporary accommodation.

“Putting everyone together in one location was always going to be a recipe for disaster and what is needed is more temporary accommodation spread through the local authority area because what has happened in the past is that people have moved in from all kinds of places, which is not much good for them. It’s better to have these properties spread out so there’s more geographical convenience.”

In a response to a question from Councillor Robson at Scottish Borders Council this week on plans for Maxmill Park, Councillor Robin Tatler, the council’s executive member for Communities and Equalities, said: “The council is currently actively looking to identify alternative accommodation options to allow us to discontinue the use of Maxmill Park as temporary homeless accommodation.

“Due to the significant demand for the provision of statutory accommodation to homeless households, and the corresponding lack of alternative options across the social housing landscape, at present this is proving challenging.

“The current use of the provision in Maxmill Park is minimal, however we recognise that the Homeless Service may be required to utilise these properties again should demand for this accommodation increase.

“At the present there has been no decision on the future use of the site and how this is utilised or deposed of by the council.

“Further investigations are expected to identify alternative uses or a means to dispose of the site from council ownership once we have alternative options for meeting our statutory duty under homeless legislation.”