Doncaster city centre homeless shelter used by rough sleepers earmarked for closure

Open House Plus, which is situated on College Road, could shut by the New Year, bosses at operators Changing Lives have said.

But chiefs have said the closure of the distinctive and landmark building near to Doncaster’s main police station would not impact on the city’s homeless community.

Phil Holmes, City of Doncaster Council’s Executive Director for Adults, Wellbeing and Culture said: "Doncaster Council has worked hard to build a strong partnership approach to tackling rough sleeping across Doncaster and the recent awarding of two long-term contracts to Changing Lives and Target Housing will allow us to take this work to the next level.

"The long-term nature of these contracts shows our commitment to tackling rough sleeping, and our understanding that such a long-term issue requires a long-term solution.

"Part of our approach involves reducing our dependency on hostel accommodation, which is not suitable for everybody, particularly those with underlying vulnerabilities.

"We've been replacing some of our hostel accommodation with other supported accommodation, so that we are still able to help as many people as previously but to do so in a way that is more likely to help a greater number break out of the vicious cycle of rough sleeping.

"This approach is replacing the need for the hostel at Open House Plus, but we will review progress and make a decision on this in the New Year."