Plans to convert six unused public toilets into three accommodation units for the homeless have been dropped after they were described as inappropriate and posed a risk of exploitation for those using the accommodation.
Herefordshire Council wanted to convert toilets on East Street in Hereford into three so-called sleeping pods to serve as “temporary transitional accommodation”.
Hereford Civic Society stated that the conversion of an “isolated, minimally dimensioned and non-communal building” could not be described as suitable housing.
And one resident who objected to the project described the proposals as “completely exploitative”, fearing that the “vulnerable” proposed residents would become “targets for Herefordshire’s criminal community”.
In April, the local council applied for a building permit to renovate the toilets, which had been closed for several years because of anti-social behaviour.
A housing officer at the authority had stated that the planned housing units would “ensure an improved quality of life”.
However, councillors expressed concerns about the plan, saying it would result in “cramped, poor quality accommodation”.
The Council has already similar conversion of public toilets in Union Street, next to St. Peter’s Church, after similar criticism.
