HOMELESS families have been making the most of one of the town's latest projects to resolve the housing crisis.

The development at Lowfield Road in Caversham has seen 28 self-contained temporary homes installed, as part of a £2m project from the council.

Construction started last year to provide a temporary safe space for families, while they look for a permanent place to live.

Matt Rodda, MP for Reading East, said: “I am delighted to see this project come to fruition.

"Reading is a growing town and a combination of that growth with the severe cuts in central Government funding has helped to create what are extremely difficult circumstances in our housing market.

“There is a severe shortage of council housing, affordable homes to buy and good quality private rented accommodation in Reading and I am campaigning for more housing.

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"Labour would build 100,000 homes a year across the country to tackle this crisis. These would be both council houses and homes to buy.

"We would also ensure a fairer deal for renters with a consumer rights revolution to improve standards, security and affordability for people who rent their homes from a private landlord.”

The innovative Lowfield Road scheme is one of a number of projects the council is implementing to tackle the housing crisis in Reading.

Other schemes include the construction of 57 permanent Council homes in Conwy Close, Tilehurst, the creation of a wholly-owned housing company called Homes for Reading and close working with private landlords through initiatives such as the Rent Guarantee Scheme.

With Reading in the middle of a housing crisis, the Liberal Democrats revealed more than 460 homes are currently vacant, with nearly 10 per cent thought to have been empty for five years or longer.

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Councillor John Ennis, lead member for Housing, added: “I am really pleased to see this development progress and look forward to welcoming families to these new homes.

“This development will reduce the number of those families requiring emergency accommodation being placed in bed and breakfasts and provide them with a comfortable and well-equipped temporary home.

"What is undeniable is that there is a pressing need to maximise the potential use of all housing."

Reading Borough Council originally proposed to build 1,000 new homes to meet the rising need for accommodation in the town.

However, the plans had to be scrapped following the 2015 Autumn Budget.

Reading needs to deliver 699 homes per year, 406 of which need to be affordable homes in order to meet the housing need.

This equates to more than 12,000 homes by 2036.