A brand new innovative emergency accommodation development was officially opened in Ealing, London, on Thursday 6 April 2017.
The first of its kind, Marston Court, has been created by ISO Spaces in partnership QED Property, Cargotek and Ealing Council. The solution is an innovative response to housing supply problems in the borough. It is a 34-apartment development created using a kit of moveable and re-usable parts, based around re-purposed shipping containers, offering a sustainable, robust, affordable and flexible solution to short-term accommodation.
The need for immediate accommodation across England is growing with nearly 15,000 households in the last quarter of 2016 considered homeless and more than 75,000 households last year in temporary accommodation, up 10% from the previous year.
In London, the situation is particularly acute with 53,370 household’s homeless and 2293 in Ealing alone.
Emergency accommodation in Ealing has become critical, with a steady decline in the availability of suitable options; Ealing Council has found it increasingly difficult to provide in-borough temporary accommodation. The opening of Marston Court will improve this.
Marston Court is a joint development by QED Sustainable Urban Developments and social housing repairs and maintenance provider Mears Group.
CargoTek, a specialist supplier of sustainable and flexible spaces, provided the modular accommodation manufactured by ISO Spaces at their production facility in Cornwall.
The Marston Court development on Bordars Walk, Ealing, is located on a previously disused brownfield site that attracted fly tipping and anti-social activity. The development, which brings vacant land back into productivity through interim use, will help those in immediate need of emergency accommodation, including young families and low-income individuals.
The development, which will home up to 72 individuals, comprises four pavilions with 34 secure, ready to move in fully furnished apartments, a management office, laundry and refuse storage. The site is built to secured by design principles and landscaped with open outside spaces and a play area.
Gregg Curtis , Founder / Director, ISO Spaces said: “Homelessness is an issue that is always critical at any scale, We need to design and develop more solutions to these issues. Our focus is on providing real products to do that. And working in partnerships with organisations that can deploy those solutions at scale is critical.
“For Marston Court we worked in conjunction with Cargotek, QED property , Mears and Ealing Council to deliver ready to live in roust, sustainable accommodation to an otherwise disused brownfield site.
Bob Blackman MP, Sponsor of the Homelessness Reduction Bill, said: “There is an acute shortage of suitable housing and far too many people ending up in situations which can lead to them becoming homeless. That is why I have been working to significantly reform England’s homelessness legislation through the Homelessness Reduction Bill.
“This Government is committed to helping families and the most vulnerable when they become homeless and with temporary emergency accommodation in such short supply interim schemes such as Marston Court in Ealing are providing a much needed lifeline for many.
“QED’s Marston Court is a ground-breaking development to provide temporary accommodation for homeless people.”
Councillor Jasbir Anand, cabinet member for housing at Ealing Council, said: “Like all London boroughs, Ealing is facing a massive housing crisis and we believe that some radical thinking is needed. The Marston Court development is just one of a number of projects that we are undertaking to repurpose underused brownfield sites and transform them into assets that benefit our local community in as cost-effective way as possible.
“As a council, we are also lobbying the Government to support councils by addressing the rules that stops us from building more social housing. We want to provide more quality housing for our residents, but the current restrictions around funding these kinds of developments need an urgent rethink.”
