A call for building standards in emergency housing

The lack of family-oriented spatial considerations has left families with several small children all sharing one cramped room. With the new commitments to housing in Labour’s first Autumn Budget, we urgently need to strengthen aspirations for this crucial form of housing.   

For the past four years, I have been working with the London Borough of Havering to develop a new approach to emergency housing. This has resulted in the Family Welcome Centre, which will be part of a wider regeneration of the post-war Harold Hill Estate. Designed specifically to provide emergency accommodation for vulnerable families, it will provide short-term accommodation while a more permanent home is found.

“While designing the building, we were struck by how rare purpose-built emergency accommodation is, never mind how rarely it is fit for purpose”

Many of these families are fleeing abuse and hugely painful domestic conditions, so the project seeks to make a traumatic period a little more bearable. We aspire to provide calming and uplifting spaces both inside and out. The welcome centre will be arranged around an inner courtyard garden for safe outdoor play, alongside extensive communal space for cooking, relaxing, working or studying.  

While designing the building, we were struck by how rare purpose-built emergency accommodation is, never mind how rarely it is fit for purpose. As far as we can tell, the Harold Hill Family Welcome Centre is one of only a handful of its kind in London.

However, we are beginning to see an uplift in this type of building, with projects such as the Newham Homeless Shelter, designed by Morris+Company. The firm also recently published a very good report recommending guidance on family accommodation, and hostel proposals in Camden by RCKa and Bell Phillips. 

These projects have pioneered high-quality temporary accommodation for a range of residents. However, without proper planning guidance and minimum standards, the industry remains unlikely to deliver spaces that adequately meet the differing needs of the families, young people and older people who find themselves homeless in our capital.

Conventional housing is driven by well-rehearsed design guidance, and yet we’ve overlooked specialist housing used by those most at need of protection. In considering this, we need to be careful to get the balance right and ensure that enforceable standards don’t stifle innovation. 

As such, we urge the government to implement a review of the following opportunities: 

• Guidance for emergency accommodation setting out best practice and minimum levels of quality. This must include a differentiation of housing tailored to specific demographics – from families to individuals and older people to domestic abuse survivors.

• Incentives and support for local councils to enable them to build more temporary accommodation efficiently and where it is required, including clarity and streamlining of the planning process.

• Review of funding mechanisms to harness the potential of private money, via partnerships and the delivery of temporary accommodation by developers alongside – or instead of – affordable housing as part of an overall housing mix. 

The government should pull out all the stops to enable the delivery of fit-for-purpose and inspiring emergency housing. We need an urgent discussion about how government incentives and our regulatory frameworks can fast-track further high-quality accommodation, both in London and beyond.

Labour has suggested planning passports to help achieve ambitious homebuilding targets. Given the urgency and social importance of emergency housing, it might be appropriate to consider something similar here. 

Meanwhile, we need to build on the success of individual exemplar projects to create consensus on best practice standards. With the potential for momentum around the government’s proposed initiatives, we have a window of opportunity to ensure that emergency housing isn’t overlooked in future – we can’t miss it. 

Nick Gaskell, partner, Hawkins\Brown Architects