Rugby council offers £100,000 to help fund regeneration of Lawrence Sheriff Almshouses

Rugby Borough Council is chipping in with £100,000 to help fund the regeneration of Lawrence Sheriff Almshouses.

Located on the gyratory system at the top of Dunchurch Road, Rugby, the 11 bungalows that were built in the 1960s are behind the times in terms of facilities for those living there and energy ratings.

A council report explains that a lot of retrofitting needs to be done to comply with energy efficiency laws coming in from 2025 which could render the properties unusable.

The Lawrence Sheriff Almshouses were originally on Church Street in Rugby town centre, opposite St Andrew’s Church, but the provision of housing for older men from the borough was moved after they were destroyed.

Phase one will see the rejuvenation of the existing bungalows through the installation of central heating, insulation, solar panels, new windows, replacement kitchens and shower rooms, wheelchair access and ramps, decoration and improvements to gardens, work that is expected to cost in the order of £880,000.

Phase two is set to include the building of four new homes.

The council’s report acknowledges that the charity has struggled to find the money to renovate the homes with one of the aims of the council funding to unlock other sources of finance.

It reads: “It has a severe financial challenge that leaves it with no investments or financial security to call upon.

“The logistics of decanting tenants to enable the refurbishment works to progress inevitably means that a few of the properties are currently void, which has a further adverse impact on revenue income.

“Discussions are in progress with several charities and potential lenders to enable the works for both phases to progress.

"In addition, the Almshouses Association, along with the Almshouse Consortium Limited, are helping the trustees to formulate a bid for funding from Homes England to support the delivery of this project.”

It also notes that negotiations with Homes England “have been positive” to date but also carries warnings of some of the consequences of the work not being done.

“This scenario would result in a likely increase in homelessness applications and a resulting need for temporary accommodation whilst assessment of individual circumstances are made,” it read.

“If the homes ended up empty then, in addition to the obvious loss of accommodation to meet the housing needs of a vulnerable cohort, there would be a potential impact on community safety and a likelihood of squatters taking up occupation.”

Speaking during Monday’s cabinet meeting where the funding was unanimously approved, Councillor Derek Poole (Con, Wolston & the Lawfords), leader of the Rugby Borough Council, said: “I have had a look at the plans and the buildings and I think it is a good investment from this council.

“They do need regenerating, they are in a bad state of repair. Anything that we can do for those people, we will do it.”

More about the almshouses

The original almshouses in Church Street were founded in the 16th century by Lawrence Sheriff. They were pulled down, rebuilt and extended in the 18th century, but they were demolished in the 1960s and the site was converted into shops. Replacement almshouses were built on the central island of the gyratory in the middle of Rugby that are still in use today.