Council chiefs say that cannot rule out using a town centre hotel to accommodate homeless people – despite hundreds of people calling for it to end.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council has currently placed nine individuals in the Sneyd Arms hotel in Tunstall, and its use as homeless accommodation has been linked to rising crime and anti-social behaviour in the town.

More than 500 people signed a petition, launched by former Stoke-on-Trent North MP Jonathan Gullis, calling on the city council to stop using the hotel in this way. But councillors were told that while the authority is trying to reduce its reliance on hotels for temporary accommodation, the Sneyd Arms is still needed.

The council, which spent more than half a million pounds on hotel and B&B accommodation last year, is currently reviewing its rough sleeper and homeless strategy. Mr Gullis told members of the housing, regeneration and operations scrutiny committee that the issues in Tunstall were specifically linked to single, homeless men with drug or alcohol problems.

The petition was started by former MP, Jonathan Gullis (Image supplied).

He said: "Previously there had been people placed in the Sneyd Arms who were families with young children. The specific problem arose when single males, particularly those with drug and alcohol dependency, were placed in the Sneyd Arms. They were either attracting crime into the town, with people seeking to exploit their vulnerability, or they themselves were partaking in drugs and alcohol and acting in a yobbish manner.

"I do accept that it could be seen as cruel and callous to say that it shouldn't be used for homeless people at all. The young families were not the problem, and so I would be empathetic towards that being able to continue for a short period of time. But what should be made clear is that young, single men with drug and alcohol problems should not be using this facility.

"It's about setting a tone and not making Tunstall seem like a dumping ground."

Mr Gullis suggested that town centre hotels in Stoke-on-Trent were 'profiteering' off the taxpayer due to the increased demand for accommodation, both for homeless people and asylum seekers. He said that a better solution to rising homelessness would be expanding provision from charities such as the Gingerbread Centre.

Adrian Scarrott, assistant director for housing, told the committee that the council had a legal duty to provide temporary accommodation to homeless people, including individuals with 'challenging' behaviours. The council recently expanded its dedicated homeless units from 28 to 40, and is currently looking to procure nightly paid accommodation from a local provider to reduce the use of hotels.

Mr Scarrott said: "We do recognise that hotels aren't ideal. However, in the context of increasing demand, we don't have sufficient capacity within our own stock. So we do have to use hotels. We are looking to increase the number of our own units, which would help limit the use of hotels.

"But in certain circumstances, when we need to accommodate someone urgently, a hotel is the most suitable way of doing that. We recognise that some individuals will present challenging behaviours, and we work hard with other agencies to minimise the impact on local communities."

Mr Scarrott also said that six people had been arrested and charged in connection with a spate of crime in Tunstall in March and April, and none of them had been resident at the Sneyd Arms.

Councillor Chris Robinson, cabinet member for housing, acknowledged the issues in Tunstall, saying there had been similar problems linked to the Crown Hotel in his own ward in Longton. He said: "It's not just about giving people accommodation. They have multiple issues. So it's about that wraparound support. You can't just give someone a room and say 'there you go', and let them wander about the town all day, because that's where the problems come from."

Committee members voted to note the petition, and asked for further information on anti-social behaviour in Tunstall. They also asked for the revised homelessness strategy to be brought to a future meeting.

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