Councillors have been asked to help search for places to site prefabricated modular units for temporary accommodation use to deal with a homelessness crisis in Powys.

A council housing chief has contacted all Powys county councillors asking them for help find these sites as the council is “interested” in buying or renting them.

The call was reinforced by the council’s deputy leader Matthew Dorrance at a Cabinet meeting on 30 July.

Cllr Dorrance said the council still faces “significant challenges around homelessness”, and that the council had set itself a “robust challenge” to help people find homes.

Cllr Dorrance stressed the need to lower the reliance on bed and breakfast accommodation.

“We still have significant challenges, and the report rightly highlights that we have not delivered on those,” he said.

“We are still working to bring down some of those problem areas so that we achieve our ultimate ambition that everyone lives in a secure home.”

The report said that homelessness in Powys remains “high” and is 20.8 per cent above pre Covid-19 pandemic levels from 2019/2020, with homeless numbers up from 295 at the end of March 2023, to 309 by the end of March this year.

The email to councillors received was sent out by the director of economic development and growth, Diane Reynolds.

She has taken over the housing brief in a shake up and expansion of the councillors senior staff.

Ms Reynolds said: “In order to help reduce the high cost to the council of using privately owned bed-and-breakfast or Airbnb type accommodation for homeless households, the council is actively looking for brownfield sites which could be used to accommodate interim modular accommodation.

“Any such sites would need to be within or close to a market town, so that homeless households are able to have full access to services and community facilities.”

“The council would be interested in buying or renting such sites, depending on the nature of the site and its end use.

“The type of temporary accommodation used would be in the former of factory built, self-contained units, approximately the size of shipping container.”

The homes would need planning permission.

Using modular units to deal with homelessness issues was first discussed at a meeting of the council’s Economy, Residents and Communities last December.

Councillors at that meeting were told it cost Powys £1.42 million to deal with the homelessness issue last year.