More homes for Afghan families in Chivenor

Council gets £20,000 per refugee

Six more homes for Afghan families are to be provided at a military base in North Devon, bringing the total to 18.

North Devon Council (NDC) has agreed to accept the Ministry of Defence’s offer of the further units at the Royal Marine barracks at Chivenor, near Braunton, for which it will receive funding to provide support for the families under the Afghanistan Resettlement Scheme.

The council will get £20,000 per refugee over three years. It’s housing manager works with schools and other local services to manage the local impact.

All 12 units already at the base in Braunton are currently occupied.

Members of the council’s strategy and resources committee were told that if they didn’t agree to the additional units, it was likely that the MOD would carry on regardless of council support, and it was likely the funding would be cut.

North Devon Council is providing 13 of its own homes for people displaced by conflict in Afghanistan and Ukraine, with  £1.5 million from the government through the Local Authority Housing Fund which it has match funded.

The scheme helps families to move out of temporary and emergency accommodation like B&Bs to stable homes.

The accommodation will eventually be used for people suffering homelessness in the district when it is no longer needed for the resettlement scheme.