Following last winter’s successful use of homeless pods based at Shadsworth in Blackburn, suggestions have been put forward to store future similar accommodation at the town’s Nova Scotia Wharf.
In Blackburn with Darwen, our local authority has always provided accommodation to rough sleepers throughout the months of November to March. This has been in place whether or not the Government’s Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP), where sub-zero degrees temperatures are forecast for consecutive nights, has been put into operation.
Things were complicated last winter due to Corona Virus. Rough sleepers in previous years had been housed in communal accommodation. But the pandemic brought a need for isolation of rough sleepers, due to a risk of further infection spreading in a place with one of Britain’s highest rates of Covid-19.
Homeless pods have been used as a way of providing shelter to our borough’s most chaotic rough sleepers who had been excluded from existing accommodation in Blackburn. Funding for sleeping pods was provided through the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).
These homeless pods can be utilised not only for possible emergency accommodation, but for many other uses too. These could include sporting events taking place in Blackburn, along with potential future pop and rock music festivals. The pods themselves are almost like a version of shipping containers. They can be brought in for many uses and are very easy to store. Due to their compact size, they can be transported all over the country. This is usually done on trailers pulled by lorries, but they can also be adapted for trains and even floated on water.
This latter form of conveyance has been closely studied due to its favourable environmental impact. It seems if you tilt these pods sideways, their dimensions mean they are capable of being transported along parts of Britain’s canal network. This would include our very own Leeds Liverpool canal running through Blackburn. There is also an ideal storage place for these pods at Nova Scotia Wharf in the town.
Storing these pods at this location, would also mean mass transport able to take place to sites along the canal where accommodation may be needed urgently. Blackburn is the largest intermediate town on the Leeds Liverpool canal. But this waterway also flows through large towns like Wigan and Burnley, whilst terminating at the very large cities of Leeds and Liverpool. This canal also has a branch which connects it to the canal network in Manchester. So Blackburn could become an ideal staging post to help homeless people right across the north of England.