October 4, 2019 2.57 pm This story is over 52 months old

Lincoln council booked 295 rooms for people in need at its new Travelodge

Priority need groups include pregnant women, those with children, vulnerable old people and victims of domestic abuse

The City of Lincon Council has booked 295 rooms for people in need at the authority-owned city centre Travelodge since it opened last year due to a shortage of emergency and temporary accommodation.

A Freedom of Information request to the authority revealed that £96,213 had been spent on hotel rooms – though the council says it expects to get the majority back through housing benefit.

A spokesman said the City of Lincoln had a statutory duty to house people who might find themselves homeless – including priority need groups such as pregnant women, those with children, vulnerable old people and victims of domestic abuse.

Paula Burton, Housing Solutions Manager at City of Lincoln Council, said: “We only use Travelodge as a last resort but, at busy times, there can be a shortage of suitable emergency and temporary accommodation in Lincoln. This means Travelodge needs to be used more often than we would like.

“Much of the money paid out to Travelodge is recoverable from the government through housing benefit but we still try to accommodate people in the best value option available to us.

“Despite government cuts to local authority budgets we have maintained a constant level of support for tackling homelessness, and we will continue to do whatever we can to help where and when possible.”

The City of Lincoln Council bought the 127-room Travelodge, on Tentercroft Street, for £13 million in March of last year and leased it to the company for 25 years.

The work was completed in July and the hotel officially opened its doors in November.


SUBSCRIBE TO LOCAL DEMOCRACY WEEKLY, our exclusive email newsletter with highlights from coverage every week, as well as insights and analysis from our local democracy reporters.