Homeless families are set to move into 23 new pods being stacked in a car park by a council in a bid to tackle the housing crisis.
One council has come up with the scheme amid the soaring cost of temporary accommodation across the country.
It is being created in an industrial estate in Ashford, Kent, and the first in the county and cost £7.4m.
The government is contributing £1.84 million of this with the rest covered by Ashford Borough Council.
Homeless families are set to move into 23 new pods being stacked in a car park by a Kent council in a bid to tackle the housing crisis
The pod estate being created in an industrial estate in Ashford, Kent, and the first in the county. It will cost taxpayers £7.4 million
The amount the authority has spent on temporary accommodation has rocketed in recent years.
Stats show it was £739,749 in 2018/19 to £1.95 million in 2022/34 – a rise of 163 per cent.
The homes are described as being ‘highly insulated’ and triple-glazed, with 175 solar panels on the roof.
The 23 units are a mix of 13 one-bed, nine two-bed and one three-bed dwellings, to ensure a ‘mix of individuals and families can be accommodated’.
There is a large communal garden and parking spaces for 19 cars are included, including two disabled bays.
Each apartment is occupied by a single household, with its own kitchen, bathroom and private balcony.
Friday Quick and her partner Richard Warrior, from Chatham, were made homeless in 2022.
They were served a Section 21 – a so-called no-fault eviction notice which allows landlords to evict a tenant without giving a reason.
Having spent three weeks living in their car, the couple say they would have loved to have been offered a pod.
The 23 units are a mix of 13 one-bed, nine two-bed and one three-bed dwellings, to ensure a ‘mix of individuals and families can be accommodated’
There is a large communal garden and parking spaces for 19 cars are included, including two disabled bays
Each apartment is occupied by a single household, with its own kitchen, bathroom and private balcony
The 51-year-old said: ‘I think more councils should do this.
‘We are still in temporary accommodation after two years and we are having issues with it, so I would absolutely take one.’
The scheme, called Fortis House, features ABC’s first net-zero carbon properties which are designed to give people a temporary roof over their heads while they seek permanent homes.
Contractors lifted the first of the 12-tonne pods into position in March and the final batch was delivered last month.
The short-term accommodation project, which is being built on the former Henwood car park next to Ashford’s fire station, is on track to finish in September with the first residents set to move in shortly after.
But it has sparked fears it could become a permanent solution.
Shipping containers were originally going to be used but bosses said the pods were greener.
Ealing Council in west London caused outrage when it used two decommissioned shipping containers to house the homeless.
The short-term accommodation project, which is being built on the former Henwood car park next to Ashford’s fire station, is on track to finish in September with the first residents set to move in shortly after
An image issued by Zed Pods shows how the apartments could look inside image
People living called it a slum and said it was rife with serious violence, drug dealing, sex workers and drug taking.
One domestic violence abuse victim, who lived there for several months, slammed the Ashford plan.
She said: ‘Local councils should have learned a lesson from Ealing that these things do not work.
‘It’s an appalling idea. I fear it will end the same, in disaster, and then they have to be removed.
‘People need to be treated with respect and dignity, whether you’re homeless or not.’
Another said: ‘On the face of it, it might sound like a nice idea. But they will have no idea what challenges they are facing.
‘I sincerely hope it works for them. But I fear it won’t.
‘I fear it will end up like a shanty town.’
Cllr Noel Ovenden (Ashford Independents), who has led ABC since last May, says the homelessness problem in Ashford is ‘huge’ so his focus is to ensure the authority does everything in its power to mitigate it.
But Dr Rehan Khodabuccus, the technical and operations director at Zed Pods, hopes the scheme would be a success.
Shipping containers were originally going to be used but bosses said the pods were greener
He said: ‘Having your own front door and your own keys makes a really big difference in people’s lives.
‘What we found in schemes we’ve completed elsewhere is that it created upward spirals for people.
‘So people that got into a place of themselves, they got good jobs, held down that employment and which then led to future employment.
‘Meeting those basic needs is very important and we hope that we’ve done it in a way that not only protects the people that are moving in, but also protects the environment and also looks at creating the homes that we need in the future now.’
He added: ‘We have controlled ventilation as part of the energy strategy and what that means is that you get lots of fresh air but you keep the heat within the building so that’s going to reduce energy bills.
‘Then you’ve also got the solar panels generating more energy than the building is going to consume over the course of the year.
‘There are lots of nice floor finishes that are hard-wearing but nice and bright, very neutral colour decor inside, and with the natural daylight, it makes a really nice place to live.
‘Our buildings also have breathable wall build-ups which means moisture doesn’t get trapped within the building, so there’s a very low risk of condensation inside which means a low risk of mould growth.
‘We really focus on addressing those key issues that have been brought up in social housing in recent times.’
The scheme, called Fortis House, features ABC’s first net-zero carbon properties which are designed to give people a temporary roof over their heads while they seek permanent homes
