A LONDON borough has been accused of sending vulnerable people to live in an apartment block in Clacton where some have been forced to sleep on the floor.

Tendring Council urged the London Borough of Havering to re-think its approach to housing after a number of people were housed in Clacton without it being notified.

Paul Honeywood, Tendring’s councillor responsible for housing, said he has been forced to speak out over the issue after a number of letters highlighting the problem to the London borough failed to see concerns addressed.

Housing officers at Tendring Council were first alerted to the situation in February when a number of people from Havering came seeking support having been moved to the same privately-owned apartment building.

They were alarmed to discover most had no furniture, including a bed, meaning families with children were forced to sleep on the floor.

Some had been given one housing offer and 24 hours to take it or leave it.

Council leader Neil Stock said he wrote to Roger Ramsey, leader of Havering Council, on three occasions highlighting the issue and surrounding concerns around the long-term future of the people.

Tendring Council said Havering has admitted making mistakes but so far the residents have not been re-housed closer to London.

Tendring Council’s chief executive Ian Davidson and Essex Police commissioner Roger Hirst are now looking to meet with their counterparts in London.

Mr Honeywood added: “We understand that London boroughs are facing severe housing pressures but they are not alone, and simply moving the problem elsewhere does nothing to tackle it.”

“At the heart of every homeless application is a person, and that person should come first in whatever a local authority does.

“Homelessness is not just about a roof over your head, but access to support to get yourself back on your own two feet.

“Some of the people from Havering who have turned up at Clacton Town Hall asking for help have been moved more than an hour away from all of their support networks.”

Damian White, leader of Havering Council, said: “Our duty is to house families and individuals who qualify for our help.

“We always try to provide accommodation to people in the borough or close by, but because of increasing rents and rapidly reduced government funding, this isn’t always possible.

“We are not alone in facing this issue, London as a whole, the south east of England and many cities throughout the UK are in exactly the same situation.

“Over the next ten years we will double our affordable housing offer on 12 of our estates with one of the most ambitious council home building programmes in London. But this will take time to deliver and in the meantime our obligation to provide a roof over people’s heads must remain our number one priority.”