Prince William announces major development in his bid to end homelessness

Prince Williamhas announced the latest stage of his social housing project to help eradicate homelessness. A property in south London owned by William's Duchy of Cornwall estate will be converted into 16 flats to provide affordable homes for 18 to 25-year-olds.

The new "Innovative Housing Project" is in the London borough of Lambeth, one of six locations Homewards is working in to create a blueprint to ending homelessness in all its forms, and it will be completed in partnership with homeless charity Centrepoint, which William supports as patron.

A planning proposal has been endorsed by Lambeth Council’s planning applications committee, signalling work can begin as soon as possible with homes expected to be prepared with residents moving in by the end of 2026. It is the latest stage of the Prince of Wales’ Homewards project, launched in 2023.

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The five-year locally led programme aims at demonstrating that together it is possible to end homelessness: making it "rare, brief, and unrepeated".

Homewards has set out a plan to "take a transformative approach to the issue of homelessness and put collaboration at its heart", giving six flagship locations new space, tools, and relationships to showcase what can be achieved through a collective effort focused on preventing homelessness in their areas. The scheme is establishing more than 100 local initiatives to assist the project.

William marked Homewards's second anniversary this summer by saying his programme was now in "delivery mode" and the Lambeth initiative is the third Innovative Housing Project to be launched.

Seyi Obakin, Centrepoint's chief executive, said: "Centrepoint is committed to ending youth homelessness in the UK and we know that can only be achieved through collaborative effort.

"We are pleased to work in partnership with Homewards, the Duchy of Cornwall and Lambeth Council to demonstrate that eradicating youth homelessness is achievable.

"By linking rent to individual income levels, this Innovative Housing Project offers more than shelter - it offers young people the stepping stone they need to pursue their careers, build financial resilience and transition out of homelessness for good.

"Through this project, we will demonstrate the effectiveness of this housing model and, hopefully, inspire similar solutions across the country."

The Lambeth project aims to act as a bridge between supported accommodation and the private rented sector with Centrepoint managing the homes and expanding their Independent Living Programme, which aims to break the cycle of homelessness.

The flats will be provided to young people already employed, with a number allocated to those moving towards employment, to test a new model to get people into housing and jobs at the same time.

With the planning proposal now endorsed by Lambeth Council's planning applications committee, work is expected to begin as soon as possible. Homewards was also involved in the design of the Duchy of Cornwall's first housing project to address homelessness in Nansledan, for which work is already underway.

Some 300 homes - a mixture of empty accommodation, private rentals and new builds - are forecast to be delivered through Homewards's Innovative Housing Projects.

The first residents moved into flats in Aberdeen in March after Homewards brought together a local housing association, high street retailers and others to provide and furnish the property, and the second Innovative Housing Project, launched in Sheffield. saw tenants move into their new homes in June.