West Devon council donates £10k to Ukraine

17 offers of homes are made too

Councillors in West Devon say they will give £10,000 to help with the Ukraine humanitarian crisis and will support refugees fleeing the country. 

At Tuesday’s full council meeting, it was agreed that the borough would create a project team to help support residents who are offering accommodation, pledge a £10,000 grant to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) and pass a motion of condemnation against the invaders.

The council aims to play a key role in delivering the government’s “Homes for Ukraine” scheme which involves supporting up to 200,000 Ukrainian refugees under ‘temporary visa concessions.’ 

So far there have been 17 offers of property from people in West Devon on the Homes for Ukraine website.  This accommodation would house 54 people, including some families.  

West Devon says it is committed to working closely with ‘Team Devon’, which includes Devon County Council, South Hams, East Devon, Mid Devon, North Devon, Teignbridge, Torridge and Exeter City, in order to help.  

The motion the council discussed was: “We stand ready to provide support to those affected by this war and will open our arms to people displaced and affected. 

“We will also work with and support the efforts of our local communities to provide help and comfort to those in need.”

Leader of West Devon Borough Council Cllr Neil Jory (Cons, Milton Ford) said: “Our officers are dedicated to doing everything they can to support these people in need. They are working hard to ensure the offers of homes are going through the necessary checks to make them a safe and welcome refuge for our visitors.

“It is no surprise to me that our residents have stepped forward to help those in need once again, as they so often do. I thank them sincerely for their generous and thoughtful offers of accommodation and support.

“Our job as a council is to ensure that everything runs as smoothly and as quickly as possible for both our hosts here in the borough, but also for the Ukrainian refugees who have suffered terrible losses from all they know. 

“They are far from their homes, communities, friends and colleagues, and most especially, they have been separated from their loved ones. We will do whatever we can to help them at this terrible time.”

The council will need to visit the 17 properties to assess their suitability. Councillors are urging more people to come forward if they are able to offer a minimum of six months’ accommodation.

Sponsors of refugees will be given £350 ‘thank you’ payments per month, for each address. This will not affect their benefits or single person council tax discount. 

The council will also have discussions with the voluntary sector about longer-term provision for the arriving Ukrainians.

Councillors unanimously agreed to give the £10,000 to the DEC.