Number of rough sleepers unacceptable, says charity

A charity has called the number of people sleeping rough as "unacceptable".

Southend-on-Sea, Essex, consistently records one of the highest numbers of people who are homeless in the county, with up to 60 people sleeping rough in the town at night.

Sam Cowie, the executive director of operations at homelessness charity HARP, based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, said: "We've probably been in crisis for quite some time, the numbers fluctuate from year to year but they've always been unacceptable levels across the country."

Southend-on-Sea City Council has been approached for comment.

Cowie, who spoke to BBC Essex's Breakfast presenter Sonia Watson on Tuesday, said: "Over the last year it has been estimated that 4,700 [people are] sleeping rough [in England] at any given night and around 800 in the south east [of England].

"We see 50 to 60 people sleeping rough every night just in Southend."

She also said that in March 135,580 households were in temporary accommodation nationally.

Cowie said the number of homeless people was likely to be bigger due to hidden homelessness, which refers to people without a permanent home who live in informal or unseen arrangements.

Basildon has one of the highest homelessness rates in the East of England, with one in 94 people in the town either sleeping rough or in temporary accommodation, according to the housing charity Shelter.

Last month Colchester City Council announced a new five-year strategy to run from 2026 to 2031 which aimed to prevent homelessness with early intervention before someone reached crisis point.

The project involves working with local partners such as charities, housing providers and residents that have experienced homelessness to tackle the issue, a council spokesperson said.

Between April 2025 and March, homelessness was prevented for 226 households and relieved for a further 136 households, they added.

The strategy is due to go before the council for approval on 21 October, after previously receiving amendments from the authority's Scrutiny Panel.

Paul Dundas, the Conservative leader of Colchester City Council, said: "We own over 6,000 homes or dwellings... [we will be] checking that everyone in our homes still need social housing.

"We also need to look at the number of affordable homes we are building."

He said about 17% of the new homes built in Colchester were affordable, but added the authority's target was 30%.

Dundas added that the council has started to encourage people to consider moving into homes that match their circumstances, such as a couple living in a bungalow rather than a four-bed home.

"That might help free up homes for the right size for the right people.

"We can't force people to move and we won't, but clearly [there could be] a benefit both ways," he said.

"It is easier and cheaper if we can stop people from becoming homeless in the first place.

"The simple fact is that if you look over the last five years in Colchester, rents and mortgage with interest rates have increased far more than wages, not to mention the rest of the cost-of-living issues."

Basildon Borough Council was contacted for comment.

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