NR19 Key Information
NR19 Hotel: Key Facts
· Emergency accommodation is provided when we have a legal duty to do so.
· On average, Breckland Council houses 6 individuals/couples at the NR19 Hotel, at any one time.
· Breckland Council does not house families at the NR19 Hotel.
· Breckland Council is currently housing 10 people at the NR19 Hotel.
· All 10 people have a local connection.
· The cost per night of housing someone at the NR19 Hotel is circa. £55 per night.
· 33% of the cost is recoverable through Housing Benefit.
· Breckland Council Officers meet with residents that it places there every week to provide support.
· Norfolk County Council, Broadland, South Norfolk, Norwich and East Suffolk Councils have/are using the NR19 Hotel.
· Breckland Council has no support responsibilities when other councils use the NR19 Hotel.
· It is safe and legal to use the NR19 Hotel for emergency accommodation.
NR19 Hotel: Response to the Briefing Document
Unsupported Placements
· The Council must provide emergency accommodation in certain circumstances but is not required to provide supported housing.
· Support is offered where possible, but specialist services (mental health, substance misuse, domestic abuse) lie with external agencies.
· Breckland Council Officers work alongside and make active referrals into external agencies.
· Around 25% more people with complex needs have presented in the last year; roughly 50% of homeless households are single males.
· Supported housing places are limited across Breckland and Norfolk.
· Homelessness has increased nationally and locally in the last 5 years.
· Breckland has increased its Support and Resettlement Team from 2 to 5 workers; each household also has a designated Housing Officer.
· The NR19 Hotel is not used by the Ministry of Justice to house people directly from prison. Breckland Council sometimes has a duty to provide emergency accommodation to people who have been in prison, if they have a priority need.
· The Council does not place families in the NR19 Hotel and has asked other councils to stop doing so.
Standards / Condition of Accommodation
· Officers visit the NR19 Hotel regularly and have no serious concerns about room safety or building standards.
· Repairs are raised and then addressed as needed by the landlord.
· All emergency accommodation is routinely inspected for safety and suitability.
· Housing Officers provide at least weekly visits for support, compliance checks, and to help residents move on to more permanent accommodation.
Planning
- Emergency accommodation can legally be placed in any of the lawful uses on site: hotel, House of Multiple Occupation (HMO), flats or residential.
- The refused certificate only related to whether certain rooms were legally flats — not whether people could be placed in them for emergency accommodation.
- The Council is not placing people in emergency accommodation that is in breach of planning control at the NR19 Hotel.
- The HMO at the front was lawfully permitted, but the owner has removed the communal spaces, creating an unlawful change of use. The owner will be applying to return it to hotel use.
- Hotels are supported in town centre locations by both national and local policy; refusal is unlikely.
- Nutrient neutrality mitigation will be assessed but expected to be limited.
Epping Forest Case (Nov 2025) - Relevance
· The judgment confirms: switching from hotel use to hostel use is not automatically a material change of use; it depends on planning consequences.
· Distinction between hotel and hostel is "fine"; hotels may include long-term residents.
· Enforcement must be proportionate and in the public interest, not simply due to public pressure.
· Fear of crime can be a valid material consideration.
· Overall, only the front of the NR19 Hotel may present a potential breach, which will be assessed through the forthcoming application.
Value for Money
- Homelessness and emergency accommodation costs have risen nationwide.
- Breckland has invested £9m in buying/building its own accommodation, reducing the need for nightly paid placements from over 100 to 25 on average.
- Nightly paid provision ranges from £50-£130 per night.
- The Council prioritises suitability and value for money.
Impact on Dereham
- Dereham has seen changes linked to increased emergency accommodation locally, including placements made by other councils.
- Dereham has had an increase in private providers purchasing and offering emergency accommodation in Dereham and these have been used by other councils in Norfolk and Suffolk.
- Discussions with neighbouring councils have reduced their use of Dereham and this trend continues as they expand their own provision.
Wider Context
· 94 households currently in emergency accommodation in Breckland.
· 38% reduction when compared to 12 months ago.
· 66 households are accommodated in property owned or leased by Breckland Council.
· 29% are in nightly paid accommodation.
· The average cost of nightly paid accommodation is £70 per night.
· The average stay in Breckland's emergency accommodation is 192 days.
Over the last 5 years, Breckland Council has converted a redundant care home for use as emergency accommodation, housing 17 households at any one time. It has also bought 22 properties and leased 17 more, which combined can house up to 92 households.
In the UK, on 31 March 2025, 131,140 households were in emergency accommodation, which is an increase of 11.8% from 31 March 2024. Households with children in emergency accommodation increased by 11.6% to 83,150, whilst single households increased by 12.0% to 47,990 since 31 March 2024.
Who qualifies for Emergency Accommodation?
Households presenting as homeless with a priority need qualify for emergency accommodation if they:
· Have children
· Are pregnant
· At risk of domestic abuse
· Are vulnerable for other reasons, the housing authority should determine whether, if homeless, the applicant would be significantly more vulnerable than an ordinary person would be if they became homeless
Other Hot Topics (for Dereham)
The Akaash
The Council has spent more than £10,000 to ensure that the building is safe and cannot be easily accessed. It has put a charge on the property to ensure that money is recovered.
The Council has invoiced against that debt and if the debt is not paid will be enforcing the sale of the property. Delayed due to change in ownership.
The Council can impose conditions on any sale made through this process and will be seeking to ensure that any new owner brings the building back into a viable use.
The costs to the Council of seeking to Compulsory Purchase Order the building would be significant and would be unlikely to achieve the end that is desired unless there was a legitimate party that wished to take it over.
USA Chicken
Signage is unauthorised and is on a Listed Building. Officers are preparing papers to prosecute the owner.
14-17 Market Pace
This has been investigated by Planning Enforcement, Building Control and Housing. Planning permission and listed building consent for unauthorised works and change of use to residential was refused on 20th October 2025. The owner has indicated he will submit a revised application by the beginning of December, but officers are currently drawing up papers to take formal action against them.
Car Parking
Dereham Town Council has agreed to acquire three car parks in Dereham: Cherry Tree, Cowper Road and Becclesgate, under a nil value transfer. Heads of Terms have been issued for the property transfer. This does rely on some final due diligence work to confirm the transfer can occur on this basis.
The Guildhall car park has not been offered as it is directly related to the Business Centre.
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