Extensive improvements will be carried out on a local hostel, to provide improved urgently-needed accommodation, after the Council’s Cabinet agreed to extend the hostel's lease last night (28 February).

Cape House, currently a privately owned hostel in Dalston providing 117 units of single accommodation, will undergo improvements so that the Council can continue to provide good-quality emergency accommodation. It is now being used by the Council as emergency temporary accommodation but currently consists of shared rooms and needs refurbishment.

After taking a lease on the property, the Council will oversee the improvements to Cape House including creating self-contained, reconfigured units for single people, with their own ensuites and kitchenettes. Other advantages of the renovations will be improving the property's environmental performance, to make it more sustainable, as well as adding two units designed for disabled residents. 

Cllr Sade Etti, Mayoral Advisor for Homelessness, Housing Needs and Rough Sleeping, said: 

“We’re pleased to welcome this positive move, which will tackle our housing issues. Although we have the largest temporary accommodation hostel stock in London, the housing situation is a major concern for our borough, and we of course want to continue to do everything we can to prevent homelessness, as well as prevent our residents living in unsuitable accommodation.  

“So we are aiming to increase the provision of good-quality temporary accommodation. The planned renovations at Cape House support our ongoing commitment to ensure we will always provide a good standard of living for those in greatest need.

“This will benefit both our local community and some of the most vulnerable residents in the borough. We will always do everything we can to continue to provide safe accommodation for all our residents in need, to maintain a healthy standard of living. 

“We are also currently building hundreds of new homes at dozens of sites across the borough and working to increase the supply of permanent genuinely affordable homes in Hackney.” 

Read the Cabinet papers here: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1LfkMqGJ2tG5CUoanOLc5cxSTmP_u4kFF