This has to be seen in the wider context not just of Forest Hill but of Lewisham. But for the moment I'll stick to Forest Hill. Miriam Lodge already houses 120 homeless people (single individuals not families). Lewisham places very few individuals in this hostel, mainly it is used by other South London boroughs to place homeless people. The owner of this hostel wants to increase the size to 180-200 units, some of which would be for homeless families.

Tyson Road is about to have 70 additional flats built on the backland site between Tyson Road and Dunoon Road. This development is within close proximity to Hamilton Lodge, so the population (permanent or temporary) will substantially increase in this small area.

The council is seeking 5 year planning permission on these sites and seem to think that there will not be a housing crisis in 5 years time, which I believe to be deliberately optimistic.

Meanwhile we continue to have a problem with school places in Forest Hill and the council have yet to provide real plans as to how they will address this in 2015 and beyond. At the last ward assembly officers implies that they were looking at possibly solutions but were not willing to discuss them yet.

I agree that homeless families must be a priority for the council, but I believe that educating residents close to their homes at primary level must also be a priority. There are other sites (in Forest Hill and beyond) that would be suitable for temporary hostels, but there are few sites in Forest Hill that would be more suitable for a school extension.