THE opening of a new 24-hour city emergency homeless shelter has been delayed with recruitment of staff taking longer than expected, the council has said.

The Somewhere Safe to Stay centre was due to open last month but this has been pushed back to November and will now "coincide with the cold winter months", a Worcester City Council spokesman has confirmed.

The facility, at the Salvation Army in The Trinity, will provide year-round accommodation for six rough sleepers and has been made possible by a grant from the Government's Rapid Rehousing Pathway Fund.

In addition to the new centre, the number of emergency night shelters in the county will rise from two to five this winter, in line with Worcestershire’s Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP).

These will open any night when the temperature is predicted to drop to zero or below and will be based in Malvern, Evesham, Kidderminster and Redditch.

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Homelessness campaigner Hugo Sugg has criticised the finance management of the new 24-hour shelter, with central overheads at close to £30,000, while staff salaries amount to £175,000.

The Government grant was £242,000 and with the current number of rough sleepers in city understood to be 24, just a quarter of the shelter's capacity, Mr Sugg believes the money could have been used more efficiently.

The founder of Hugo's Earthquake Campaign said he and his colleagues were "shocked to hear" about the extent of "back-office costs" being spent on a facility for "just six people".

"These include utility charges and overheads, nothing to support the six rough sleepers who can stay there a night." "What about the other 18?" he added.

The city council spokesman described the new city shelter as a "very positive step forward, meaning Worcester will be better equipped than ever to give rapid and intensive support" to get rough sleepers off the streets.

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They said recruitment for the eight members of staff was completed "slightly later than originally intended", but said it was important to take time to find the "right staff with strong experience in the field". Referring to Mr Sugg's criticisms of the financial management of the scheme, the spokesman said planned expenditure was "assessed against stringent criteria" as part of the original bid. The centre will be run by charity Caring for Communities and People.