As residents of Rutland Road, Grafton Road, Gibbons Road and nearby streets, and others with close connections to the area*, we know too well how much disruption can be caused to a neighbourhood by a concentration of temporary accommodation.

We ask the council to adopt a policy so that when it uses properties as temporary accommodation (whether its own or those it rents from private landlords) it makes sure that no two are within 100m of each other, or within 100m of other properties used as temporary accommodation by other providers.

We recognise that it is important that the council provides temporary accommodation. Some temporary accommodation is very well run, and we recognise that most residents of temporary accommodation are good neighbours. However, there are exceptions, and the more temporary accommodation there is in a neighbourhood, the greater the likelihood is that problems will arise. With multiple sets of temporary accommodation we know from experience there is a very real danger that problems will multiply and magnify.

Close concentrations of temporary accommodation increase the number of potentially vulnerable people in a small area. This puts these same people at greater potential risk from nearby anti-social behaviour or, even worse, from targeting by criminal exploitation.

There is plenty of space across the urban part of the Borough as a whole to spread out the temporary accommodation. A 100m separation is consistent with up to 116 such properties in a square kilometre which would be a huge number of such properties in such a small area. Thus a 100m separation is by no means an unreasonable minimum, while having properties closer than 100m to each other as temporary accommodation puts an unreasonable risk of problems on the surrounding community, including those housed in the temporary accommodation.

* Other connections include worshippers at affected places of worship in the area.