A PLANNING application to build a 23-bed supported accommodation on 180 Culver Road has been submitted before Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council (BDBC).

Homelessness charity Two Saints submitted the application to build on the Kings Furlong land with 24-hour tailored support.

This comes four months after the council overturned a covenant on land which would have prevented its use as a homeless accommodation facility.

The plans are supported by both Hampshire County Council (HCC) and BDBC. The land is owned by HCC.

Two Saints currently manage the facility at May Place in the town centre, which the council said, “is no longer fit for purpose”.

Subject to planning permission, it is proposed that the currently empty building on 180 Culver Road will be knocked down.

The BDBC believes the new building will play a key role in supporting the borough council’s target to eradicate rough sleeping by 2024.

However, there is considerable objection from Culver Road residents and a few councillors against the proposed shelter home.

The residents have said they are worried about the mess and the behaviour associated with similar sites being in their neighbourhood.

The property earlier had a covenant which stated that the area be used only for the purposes of the Children’s Act 1948 and for no other purpose.

It was included as a condition of sale of the land to Hampshire County Council in 1965, but it can legally be altered “where social, economic and environmental benefits can be achieved”.

In March, the BDBC cabinet overturned the covenant to back the supported accommodation plan.

Two Saints, in its planning application, has said the building is designed to be a learning and support place for people who are homeless and sleeping on the streets, or at risk of becoming homeless, and it is not just a place to sleep.

The 23 bedrooms will be built in small clusters, where they share things such as a kitchen. The home will have inbuilt staff quarters too.

The application says the property will have at least two staff on site 24-hours a day

The building is planned over two and three storeys and will have low-pitched roofs to make sure it fits into the surrounding area.

The main access to the building will be near the main road, to make sure it is not too close to the nearest neighbours. There will be parking for staff built into the design.