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<\/p>\nA North London borough has said it needs \u00a36m to keep running a \u201ccrucial\u201d homeless hostel that triggered a \u201ccomplete relationship breakdown\u201d between the shelter\u2019s neighbours and the Town Hall.<\/p>\n
Islington Council\u00a0says it is seeking the seven-figure sum from either Mayor Sadiq Khan or central government so it can pay a supplier to maintain services at the shelter, intended for people sleeping rough and with \u201coften very chaotic lifestyles\u201d. The 30-bed hostel at Finsbury Park\u2019s Stacey Street was refurbished from a former care home and has been in use since 2022.<\/p>\n
Executive Member for Homes and Communities, Cllr John Woolf, praised the project as an example of how the local authority was supporting those experiencing homelessness. He was also \u201cincredibly proud\u201d that Islington had bucked a London-wide trend and seen rough sleeping fall in the borough by 20 per cent since November 2024.<\/p>\n
But he admitted the shelter had faced \u201cteething problems\u201d. This included a conflict with neighbours opposed to the building\u2019s use as a hostel for people with complex needs. He said: \u201cThese were worked through, and we remain absolutely committed to supporting a broader, safer environment for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Council Leader Una O\u2019Halloran, who was housing chief at the project\u2019s outset, added that the Town Hall had dealt with \u201ca lot of fear\u201d and that blame for issues had \u201csometimes\u201d been wrongly pinned on the hostel. \u201cBut there has been so much work done to bring people together,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
An independent review from 2023 described a \u201ctotal breakdown in relationships between the council and some neighbours, which led to a hostile environment developing\u201d. The charity Homeless Link reported that locals were \u201cdistressed\u201d by noise disruption and saw an increase in drug-related activity.<\/p>\n
Yet although the volume of complaints and strength of feeling about the hostel had been \u201cunusual\u201d, the report judged this had not suggested anything fundamentally wrong with the service. According to the report, many complaints were related to guests\u2019 behaviour that neighbours found \u201cstrange or undesirable\u201d but were not illegal. Meanwhile, roughly half the complaints made about anti-social behaviour (ASB) from the hostel did not in fact involve Stacey Street residents.<\/p>\n
However, the report suggested the Town Hall could have done more to bring along the \u201cclose-knit\u201d group of neighbours.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve just got to keep working with the community, because it\u2019s such a good offer,\u201d O\u2019Halloran said. \u201cIt\u2019s the most vulnerable people that deserve a step-up with a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n
The council is confident either City Hall or the government will provide the millions in grant funding needed to run the centre for up to three more years.<\/p>\n
In May, Mayor Sadiq Khan declared his action plan to end rough sleeping in London \u201cfor good\u201d by 2030. City Hall said its roughly \u00a345m budget dedicated to help break the \u201cvicious cycle of street homelessness\u201d was now five times larger than when Mr Khan took office in 2016.<\/p>\n
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