Calls for Rotherham hotel to stop being used for homeless people

Sarah Champion, Rotherham’s Labour MP, wrote to Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council yesterday (May 23) asking them to cease using the Carlton Park Hotel to house homeless people.

Residents say they have witnessed “violent crime, burglaries, trespassing on private property, prostitution, sex in public, urinating in public, begging”, and “open drug use” in the Moorgate area, after RMBC used the hotel to house homeless people.

Ms Champion has told RMBC that she is ‘appalled’ by the council’s ‘failure to engage with the local community’, adding that it is ‘shocking’ that the decision was made ‘without notification, consultation or engagement’.

Ms Champion also raised safeguarding concerns about the hotel’s proximity to Thomas Rotherham College and Oakwood High School due to the nature of the incidents being reported by residents.

The council says it has a legal responsibility to house homeless people in emergency accommodation, including hotels, when no other accommodation is available.

It added that homelessness and the use of temporary accommodation is rising due to the impacts of inflation, private landlords exiting the rented market and ever-decreasing availability of suitable homes.

A council spokesperson said: “Rotherham Council’s priority is to ensure all our residents are safe, healthy and live well. We have experienced a sharp rise in the numbers of homeless people in need of somewhere to live in recent years and continue to work hard to find people suitable accommodation, often in a time of crisis.

“We are listening to concerns raised around the use of the Carlton Park Hotel for temporary accommodation and are working with residents, ward councillors and partner agencies to address these concerns.

“Sadly, at the present time there is still a need to use hotels and bed and breakfast accommodation to home people in an emergency. We do not want to have anyone living in a hotel for any longer than is strictly necessary and have already set out our intention to move away from this as much as we possibly can.

“Accordingly we expect the number of people residing in the Carlton Park to reduce over the coming weeks.”