TWO centres for homeless families in Basingstoke have been saved from closure and another saved from being a regional hostel after the borough council’s decision-making Cabinet rubberstamped the plans on Tuesday.

As reported in last week's Gazette, Hampshire County Council is changing the services it funds for people needing support to live independently from April 2016, reducing the services by almost half.

As part of the Supporting People cuts, which are proposed by the county council, Joshua Tree, in Worting Road, and Oakley Lodge, in Burgess Road, which provide accommodation for homeless people and families, would close and there would be reduced services for single homeless people.

The proposals would have also seen May Place, at the Top of The Town, become a regional hostel.

But members of the borough council’s Cabinet voted to approve a proposal put forward by the local authority to take part in a three-year pilot scheme at a meeting on Tuesday evening.

As part of the proposal, which has been supported by Hampshire County Council, the borough council will receive a direct grant of £746,468 for three years from the county council and the borough council would add around £111,900 of its own funds to deliver joined-up housing support services with housing associations, charities, voluntary groups and other partners.

The scheme will now see May Place remain as a hostel for people with a local connection and the Joshua Tree and Oakley Lodge facilities will be saved from closure.

Eastrop councillor Stuart Parker praised the plans, telling the meeting: "I know the hard work and effort put into negotiating what I hope everybody will agree is a very satisfactory outcome from what might have been a complete disaster."

Deputy leader, Cllr Terri Reid, added: “This is just the start but if we carry on and get this approved, we are talking about a new and innovative way of actually providing support to our most vulnerable and homeless people in Basingstoke."