In 2023 the Extra reported on a historic “indefinite” strike by St Mungo’s workers over pay and conditions

A FLAGSHIP homelessness service has been sold off to a private developer, leaving vulnerable people worried for the future and key workers at risk of redundancy.

The Harrow Road Assessment Centre – which provides short stay rooms for adult rough sleepers and specialist help for 41 people – was put up for sale by the charity St Mungo’s. At least 15 staff are at risk. The charity said the building requires a “significant and unaffordable investment to be maintained to an acceptable standard”.

Staff had launched a fightback with a petition calling for the service to be sold to the city council or another charity .

One source said: “Westminster has already seen the closure of several homelessness services recently, including Hopkins House, an 80-bed hostel. Given unaffordable housing is the key driver behind homelessness, it’s unforgivable that a charity committed to ending homelessness is selling to a private developer, solely motivated by profit and thus inevitably contributing to the housing crisis and homelessness within the borough.”

Westminster City Council, which has the number of rough sleepers of any local authority in the country, is said to have expressed an interest in the site but its valuation of the property was considered too low.

The charity has said it is required under law to get the best value for the site and that maintenance is the main driver behind the sale.

The source added: “The sale of Harrow Road to a private developer is very likely to mean the demolition of the building and its replacement with unaffordable residential units. If the site’s sale to a private developer leads to the closure of the 44-bed assessment centre and an increase in homelessness, it’s hard to see how this furthers the charity’s aims.”

St Mungo’s tried to redevelop the site in a joint venture with a “socially responsible” developer in 2022. That scheme – which only included 14 units for the homeless – was thrown out by Westminster’s planning committee.

In 2023 the Extra reported on a historic “indefinite” strike by St Mungo’s workers over pay and conditions.

The striking workers had warned at the time about a “bigger picture” of the gulf between its highly-paid directors and the staff on the ground.

There were concerns about the corporate operating style of charity that this year posted a financial statement showing expenditure had risen from £118.6million in 2021/22 to £126million in 2022/23.

St Mungo’s did not respond to a request for comment.

But an executive director’s response to questions from a union representative revealed the thinking behind the plans. It said: “In 2016 we determined that Harrow Road required significant investment to bring it up to the standard needed. We explored several options, including asking the local authority for their help and later, in 2018, entering into a development agreement with a socially responsible property developer. After a subsequent assessment of the building we determined that our one realistic option was to sell.”

It added: “We have accepted an offer on the building and exchanged contracts… The proceeds of the sale will be used to help stabilise our financial position…”

“We will work with Westminster City Council to close the service and work with the clients currently accommodated at the assessment centre to ensure they have a suitable offer to move on. Redundancies will be a last resort”, the email from executive director Sean Palmer stated.