Homes appeal to provide refugees with places to live

Anyone who owns an empty home which could be used to house Syrian refugees is being urged to come forward.

Although it is not yet known what impact the Syrian crisis will have on South Holland, the district council is working on contigencies in case of an influx of refugees.
And it has urged anyone who could offer an empty house to get in touch with its private sector housing officers, although it has said people do not need to offer empty rooms within their own homes.
A spokesman said: “In terms of the impact of refugees on South Holland we feel that at this stage it’s too early to know what the full impact is going to be.
“We will, however, continue to monitor the situation.”
But it urged everyone to do their bit to help refugees, by donating to charities and volunteering.
It is expected that Lincolnshire as a whole could become home to around 200 refugees in the next five years – just a small percentage of the 20,000 that the Prime Minister said would be welcomed into Britain by 2020.
Martin Hill, leader of Lincolnshire County Council, said: “Following David Cameron’s announcement to accept 20,000 refugees from Syria into the UK, it is now expected that Lincolnshire will take up to 200 refugees over the next five years.
“We will work together with district councils, health services and voluntary organisations in Lincolnshire and across the East Midlands region to play our role in this humanitarian mission, but only if full funding will be forthcoming.
“We are continually expected to find significant savings, and over the next five years, we have to reduce our budget by £120million.
“This puts us in a difficult position.
“The cost of providing the necessary support services to refugees is very significant – a cost which we cannot meet without extra funding from government.”
It is understood funding will come from central Government for the first 12 months, but then the cost would have to be met by the local authority.
Coun Hill said: “We know that a number of local of people and organisations are keen to play their part, and we have started to coordinate these offers. If you want to volunteer or help, please visit our website (www.lincolnshire.gov.uk) to find out more details.”