Newham Council is planning an £8m conversion of Lady Helen Seymour House into a centre housing up to 42 rough sleepers, reports Nick Clark, Local Democracy Reporter

Lady Helen Seymour House (credit Google)

Long-planned work to convert a former housing block in Plaistow into a rough sleepers’ centre could finally begin in February.

Newham Council plans to convert Lady Helen Seymour House in Florence Road into a centre housing up to 42 people, at a cost of more than £8million.

Council plans say the centre will be a place where “rough sleepers can feel safe and work towards gaining independent living skills by focusing on their recovery and developing purpose and belonging in the community”.

The centre could be ready in December 2026 after work to refurbish the building begins in February, according to a provisional timetable included in council plans.

Plans say the centre will offer “accommodation for rough sleepers directly from the street” with 42 beds.

It will also provide other support including “wrap-around health care and support” including from GPs as well as substance misuse and mental health services.

There will be an internal “step down facility” when occupants are “able to live more independently prior to their next move into longer-term accommmodation.”

The council first approved plans to buy and convert the five-storey Victorian building into a rough sleepers’ centre in April 2021, but the project was delayed due to funding issues.

The council originally expected to receive £3.5million in funding from the Greater London Authority (GLA) but according to council documents this “did not materialise in the way envisaged”.

The documents added that the estimated cost of refurbishment works had increased by £2.4m due to inflation.

The plans were eventually revived in January 2024 after the council secured new grant funding of £6.7m from the GLA and the government.

The council will now contribute £3.5m towards the project’s budget through borrowing and £500,000 from its carbon offset fund. This is a fund that developers in the borough pay into if they don’t meet their carbon offset targets.

Council plans say the borrowing will be financed through rental income from from the property. They say this means the council will not have to pay to service the debt from its revenue budget for day-to-day spending.

Plans also say the council expects to receive £2.7m in revenue funding towards running the centre once it is completed.

Council officers formally agreed on Wednesday (27th) to award Buxton Construction Ltd the contract to carry out the refurbishment.

Council plans say the work will cost some £8.2m – within the approved budget. However they say final cost proposals will be submitted in December after detailed design and early works are carried out.

Main construction works are expected to begin in February 2026, with work expected to be completed in December.

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