The £780,000 development has been gathering moss and mould, as new figures reveal that homelessness in Wales is at a record high
SHIPPING containers turned into temporary accommodation for homeless people have been left empty since March, a Freedom of Information request has revealed.
The Bute Street site, which cost the Welsh government at least £780,000 to construct, is now gathering moss, mould and litter.
This comes as homelessness in Wales reached a record high, according to figures released by the Welsh government yesterday.
The number of households assessed as homeless in Wales and needing accommodation stood at 13,539 in March 2024, an increase of 8% on the previous year.
The number of households in temporary accommodation was up 18% on the previous year to 6,447, the highest figure reported since new legislation was introduced in April 2015.
The Bute Street units were originally intended as temporary accommodation for families, but the FOI also revealed that not a single family has stayed there since they opened in 2019.
During the pandemic it was repurposed for quarantining. Since then the site has become littered with rubbish, as well as having moss and mould growing over the site.
Cardiff council says the seven two-bedroom flats and six one-bedroom flats are closed for “some repairs and refurbishment” but it has not said when they will be completed or when the units will again be available for use.
Butetown councillor Margaret Lewis believes the site was closed because of concerns raised over its position next to a primary school.
It is alleged that a resident climbed on top of the containers in a mental health incident months before the closure, raising concerns for children, even though it happened out of school hours.
The council says the containers will provide emergency accommodation for unhoused families as intended once the repairs are completed. It has not commented on ongoing costs.
“If done well, some of these containers can be suitable accommodation, or they can be very, very temporary,” said Professor Peter Mackie, of Cardiff University, a government advisor on homelessness.
If done well, some of these containers can be suitable accommodation, or they can be very, very temporary
“In many cases, they’re in-between spaces where folk don’t want to be living. The ideal temporary accommodation is a house.”
The £780,000 contract was awarded as a part of the Welsh government’s Innovative Housing Programme. The scheme funds the development of housing with previously untested innovations, with the aim of making affordable housing and generating new construction methods.
