COUNCIL bosses have been asked to invest another £18.5million to buy homes for rough sleepers in Bournemouth.

The proposals are part of the authority's homelessness strategy, and the new houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) would provide temporary accommodation for homeless people who can demonstrate a connection to the town.

Last year the council announced it would invest some £11.7 million in buying 110 homes across the borough in a bid to tackle the rise in homelessness.

Now it wants to expand the programme with a larger investment in order to purchase an additional 66 properties, all of which will be let to homeless households where the council has a statutory duty to house them.

A report being presented to the council's overview and scrutiny panel on Tuesday (July11) explains that the council's ambition is to increase borrowing to around £30m in order to have a portfolio of 157 units of accommodation.

Proposals include funding an extension to Morrell House, the existing council-owned emergency hostel in north Bournemouth, as well as some additional very short term emergency units.

A statement in the report said: "The Morrell House extension will include 11 additional rooms and works will be undertaken by the in-house building team during this financial year.

"The acquisition of additional very short term emergency units within this programme aims to bring bed and breakfast placements to as close to zero as possible.

In 2016 the borough set up a limited company called Seascape Homes and Property Limited, which allows the authority to operate as a private sector landlord and issue assured shorthold tenancies - which local authorities cannot do with social housing.

By May this year the council had bought 26 properties around the town to be let directly to homeless people via Seascape, a move which it says saves money and fulfils its statutory duties.

According to the report, since the programme began last year 94 people - 39 adults and 55 children - have been accommodated, all of whom were previously housed in emergency accommodation by the council.

Once the report has been through the scrutiny process it will be presented to the cabinet on September 6 this year for approval.