Up to 20 homeless people and families could be housed in a former care home in Great Yarmouth.
Great Yarmouth Borough Council (GYBC) is seeking permission to change the use of part of a former care home to create 20 bedrooms for temporarily housing homeless families or individuals.
The site is Mildred Stone House on Lawn Avenue and the change of use is being sought for three years.
There would be nine rooms for single people and 11 rooms for families.
The care home is currently empty after closing as a residential care home for people with dementia in March this year.
Under the proposal, the property would be leased from the current owner, a private care company, and used by the borough council.
The existing office space and communal areas would be used by borough council staff and external agencies working with the occupiers to secure permanent homes.
The parts of the home not part of the proposal are currently being renovated.
Currently, individuals and families who find themselves without a home are often being placed in B&B accommodation which is not the council’s preferred option.
A document supporting the application states that using the site "will support other policies that promote the use of B&Bs specifically for tourism and release rooms for this purpose".
READ MORE: Councils spend £1.7bn on temporary accommodation amid homelessness ‘crisis’
It also says the change of use will "bring an empty site back into use for the wider benefit of those who have found themselves without a home and allow time for the owner of the site to consider its long-term future use".
A decision on the bid is expected by January 12 next year.
Last month, figures published by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, revealed that spending on temporary accommodation by council homelessness services in England rose to more than £1.7 billion in the year to March, with bed and breakfast costs up by a third.
