latest news 

A joint investigation by Big Issue and the Pavement magazine has revealed a
postcode lottery in how local councils protect rough sleepers during heatwaves.
Councils were asked whether they activated Severe Weather Emergency Protocol
(SWEP) as temperatures soared during late May. Twenty out of the 33 London
Councils said they did activate SWEP – but the support offered varied greatly from
borough to borough.
Over half of the Councils who activated SWEP said they only offered emergency
accommodation to people considered ‘most vulnerable’ and subject to strict eligibility
criteria. A third of Councils did not include special emergency accommodation in
their SWEP offer at all, instead relying on outreach teams distributing bottled water,
sunscreen and directing rough sleepers to ‘cool spaces’. One of the main issues is
that each local authority has its own protocol. But when you’re living on the streets
then a heatwave can be a matter of life and death.

Following on from our meanwhile space project last year, the ‘Hub 4 Circularity’,
we’ve been on the lookout for another building in Brighton to set up a longer-term
‘Sustainability Hub’. We’ve been in contact with many sustainability-focussed
organisations in the City to get their ideas and hopes for such a building. We’ve also
spoken to local homeless organisations, including St Mungos, who would be
interested in nominating some of their users to take part in the project to renovate /
convert a building.
We will soon be making more formal approaches to the local Council and
commercial building owners. But if you know of any spaces that you think might be
suitable, do get in touch and let us know.

Construction Magazine reports on the continuing shortage of skilled labour in the
construction industry at the same time as almost one million young people aged 16-
24 are not in either employment, education or training (NEET). Rising youth inactivity
and declining entry into skilled trades are creating a structural workforce gap. The
construction workforce is ageing with a significant proportion of skilled workers
approaching retirement. One problem reported is that construction relies heavily on
apprenticeships and vocational pathways which can be fragmented and difficult to
access.
At Phases, for many years we have offered opportunities to gain insight into what the
construction industry offers and the chance to learn basic skills. This has been both
through our training workshop and on-site experience at our renovation and
maintenance projects. Often this may just have been the start of a career in
construction but we feel that our flexible approach is the type which could play a
larger role in engaging new workforce entrants.

From the 1 st May 2026, new laws will come in that give 11 million private sector
renters better protection and more security in their homes. As a housing-focussed
charity we are, of course, fully behind this. Over the years we have strived to provide
the highest possible service to tenants in our renovated properties. So the new
legislation won’t make a great deal of difference to us.
For example, the new Act outlaws discrimination against people on benefits or with
kids – just the type of tenants we have welcomed. And landlords will be restricted
from raising the rent more than once a year – PHASES has often gone years without
raising rents. Here’s to a new era then of better standards for private renters
everywhere.

The Big Issue reports this month that homelessness has reached critical levels around the country. The cost of
living crisis and the housing crisis in the UK means that more people are facing homelessness. There are record
numbers of households living in temporary accommodation – 131,140 – 12% higher than a year ago. And the
latest rough sleeping figures revealed that 4,667 people were homeless on England’s streets in autumn 2024 – a
20% increase in just a year. Labour has promised to build 1.5 million homes and prioritise social rent
properties.Meanwhile the Scottish Government has declared a housing emergency.

The Makers Market at the Hub 4 Circularity in Brighton has recently closed after a fantastic three months
showcasing eco-art crafted from all manner of salvaged materials. Follow the separate tab on this website to find
out a lot more about this project. The building, on one of Brighton’s busiest shopping streets, has been returned
to Brighton & Hove Council for major structural repairs. But we are now on the lookout for new empty premises in
the area to launch a Hub which will focus on all aspects of the circular economy – including construction. Watch
this space.

As reported last September, we’ve been busy working on a project in Brighton which
focusses on the circular economy. The building is a ‘meanwhile space’ which is
actually part of the Brighton Pavilion Estate and has been kindy made available
through Brighton & Hove City Council. We were pulled in to manage the project with
our extensive experience of empty buildings and have not only configured the space
but also curated over 25 ‘Makers’ who work with recycled and repurposed materials.
There was a very successful opening this month, attended by Councillors and
officers and the project will run to the end of May.

Our friends at Action on Empty Homes reported at the end of last year that London is
the only region in England to have experienced increases in residential vacancy
every year since 2016. The number of homes classed as ‘long-term’ empty (over six
months) has been steadily rising in the Capital, whilst more households are forced
into temporary accommodation. During 2024 the number of long-term empty homes
in London increassed to over 38,000. See the full piece on the Action on Empty
Homes website.

We’ve recently been working with Tech-Takeback, a Brighton-based organisation that focusses on tackling ‘waste’ electrics through repair and re-use initiatives. We are excited to run a building with them in Brighton which will host a range of events
based on the ‘circular economy’ – keeping materials in use for as long as possible. It’s an approach particularly relevant to the construction industry and we’ll be announcing a number of events in the coming months focussed on green building and careers in the circular economy.

Many thanks to the London School of Astrology, and in particular Frank, for their recent fundraiser on behalf of PHASES. It resulted in a donation of £900 which will go towards running our training workshop. It’s really appreciated.