Help us tackle homelessness and rough sleeping in Adur and Worthing
Released: Tuesday, 09 September 2025
We want to hear your thoughts on our new strategy for tackling homelessness and rough sleeping in the area.
Our new draft homelessness and rough sleeping strategy outlines our plan to move beyond managing homelessness reactively by developing strategies to proactively prevent it, make it brief when it does occur and ensure it doesn't happen again for those who experience it.
Like much of the country, Adur and Worthing are grappling with a worsening housing situation. There is not enough social housing to meet local people's needs, house prices and rents in the private sector are becoming more unaffordable, and an increasing number of households are finding themselves being made homeless.
The cost of living has led to a growing number of homeless individuals with complex and multiple needs approaching us for help. The soaring cost of providing temporary housing has also left us facing increasing funding and resource constraints.
The new five-year strategy also highlights our plan to work more closely with partners to develop a stronger multi-agency response to homelessness, significantly reduce the number of households in temporary accommodation and to help people move forward from homelessness in the long-term.
As part of the consultation process, the draft strategy was reviewed by the Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee (JOSC) at The Shoreham Centre last week.
Feedback was received from committee members and Adur and Worthing's Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Prevention Partnership, which has been incorporated into the strategy now out for consultation.
Cllr Lee Cowen, Adur's cabinet member for housing and citizen services, said:
“This strategy aims to shift our approach from crisis management to early intervention. By acting proactively we will help people break the cycle of homelessness, move forward and sustain independence as well as substantially decrease our expenditure.”
Cllr Ödül Bozkurt, Worthing's cabinet member for housing and citizen services, said:
“Everyone deserves a safe, secure and affordable home, but the increasing pressures of the cost of living crisis mean more people need help with homelessness. By working more closely with partners and neighbouring local authorities, we aim to create a unified approach to prevent homelessness in the long term.”
We are keen to hear from as many people as possible about what they think of the strategy. The consultation runs until midnight on Tuesday 14th October 2025.
You can read the Draft Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy and have your say by visiting the consultation page:
To request a paper copy of the consultation, or for help to completing the questions, please email:
(PR25-064)
Page last updated: 10 September 2025