Housing crisis laid bare as couple turn disused bus stop into a temporary home

Britain's housing crisis has been laid bare after a group of homeless people transformed a disused bus stop into a temporary home.

Destiny Mitchell, 26, moved into the 9.8ft by 3.2ft glass and metal shelter in Selly Oak, Birmingham, seven months ago with boyfriend Ryan, 31, and her 44-year-old mother.

The trio have added cupboards, chairs, carpet, bins, bedding and Super Mario Bros-themed makeshift curtains.

But shopkeepers who are paying thousands of pounds in business rates and locals said the shelter was attracting 'anti-social behaviour' from large crowds of people gathering late at night.

It comes as Birmingham is caught in the grip of a housing crisis with more than 23,000 households waiting for a property. This figure includes nearly 5,000 people who are living in temporary accommodation. 

The council previously warned its waiting list for social housing could be closed to new applicants because of a backlog. 

Nationally, around 1.3 million households across England are waiting for a property. Meanwhile, 109,000 households in England – including 142,000 children – were in emergency housing between June and September last year. 

Destiny Mitchell, 26, is homeless and has turned a bus stop into a temporary home in Selly Oak, Birmingham

The shelter is kitted out with cupboards, chairs, carpet, bins, bedding and Super Mario Bros-themed makeshift curtains

The 26-year-old lives in the bus stop (pictured) with boyfriend Ryan, 31, and her 44-year-old mother

Council areas in England with the most number of rough sleepers (Data Source: UK Government)

Number of people on the social housing waiting list in different regions of England

Government figures also revealed 3,898 people slept rough in 2023, an annual increase of 27 percent and the largest annual rise since 2015.

The highest number of rough sleepers in 2023 were in Westminster (277) and Camden (121) and the  biggest year-on-year increases were in Kingston upon Hull (290 percent), Ealing (121 percent), Redbridge (89 percent) and Leeds (32 percent).

One council leader told MailOnline how the issue was placing even more pressure on local authorities.

READ MORE: Busy Birmingham roundabout where homeless people live in tents surrounded by mountains of rubbish and used needles - but the council insists it is deserted

 

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Seán D T Woodward, of Fareham Borough Council in Hampshire said: 'There is a huge and increasing cost on all councils who are housing authorities to accommodate those at rick of homelessness. 

'In Fareham a few years ago that cost was around £100,000 annually. It has now risen to £2,000,000 as various factors bite including the cost of mortgages and rent, especially in the south-east. 

'In Fareham nobody needs to sleep on the street and, when any homeless people engage with the Council via Fareham StreetAid, there is always a room for them. 

Taking a highly integrated approach with partners we ensure that we can respond rapidly to every case, often preventing homelessness, but this comes at an increasing cost.

In Birmingham, Destiny said the council has offered to provide temporary accommodation but she does not want to be separated from her mother who has autism.

The 26-year-old added: 'When we found this place it was my idea to create this living space.

'Before I lived in a bus stop, I was sleeping in a blanket on the floor, but I didn't feel safe.

'I've been living here for seven months. Before that we lived near Greggs before the police moved us on.'

The family now face finding another place to live and sleep after Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), which runs the stop, announced it was demolishing the bus shelter within weeks. 

One worker at Chicking, a nearby fast food restaurant, said their presence had become an issue. He told MailOnline: 'It’s probably been like seven months or so. They’ve been fighting in there, in the bus shelter. They come into the restaurant as well very often. They fight too.

'A lot of people come in. The customers are annoyed. They smoke inside the bus shelter.

'They come inside the restaurant and ask for free food. They ask the customers too. The council don’t do enough, people are not moving from there.

'At the night time it is horrible. At night time there’s ten of them, smoking and drinking beer. They everything there. They don’t come in here much.

'They should be taken care of, they have been suffering from a lot. They should be taken from here, even if the council supported them, there are people are coming from different areas. They mess around with them.

'They need to give them a better housing and remove the shelter.'

Ash, who works at Computer Express just metres away from the bus stop, said: 'We have had a problem with these people sitting in front of us for the past three months. It’s not good. These people have lots of visitors. If you come here Saturday night, there’s lots of them. It’s a hotspot.

The pair have lived in the shelter in Selly Oak, Birmingham (pictured) for seven months and have added cupboards, chairs, carpet, bins and bedding

 The family face finding another place to live and sleep after Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) said they would be demolishing the shelter (pictured)

A local support charity is was working with the couple to find 'appropriate accommodation' instead of the shelter (pictured)

'There’s a weed smell all around in this area. This is affecting our business. There was a fight here. There were no customers, no business. It is affecting our business.

'They should remove the bus stop from here. If it is not in use, why is it available. Give them accommodation, there must be no accommodation for them.

'I don’t know how these people can stay clean. We have people begging in the street all the time, but sleeping in the street is new.'

READ MORE: London's number of rough sleepers hits highest level since records began and 12 per cent up on last year

 

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One shopkeeper, who chose not to be named, said his livelihood was being affected and told BirminghamLive: 'I've complained to the council so many times but nothing has been done so far. People are scared to visit my shop at night because of the crowds.

'Every night 20 to 25 people gather here. This is bothering my business. I even phoned police two or three times, but they don't seem to care. I'm paying £6,000 in business rates for the year and £20,000 in rent. It's a big problem for me - but what can I do?'

Another shopkeeper added: 'It's very sad situation, of course, but the anti-social behaviour is affecting us and our customers. Something needs to be done so they're given a proper place to stay.

'It's not fair to anyone what's happening at the moment. We need to find a solution that suits everyone.'

Support charity Trident Reach said it was working with the couple to find 'appropriate accommodation'. 

A spokesperson for the charity said: 'Our teams are aware of the couple and have been trying to work with them to find appropriate accommodation. Unfortunately they have declined accommodation as it is currently not in the area they would prefer.

'We will always work with people to encourage them into appropriate housing but unfortunately sometimes people do decline help. We will continue our daily checks on the couple and continue with offers of housing support and options for them.'

Trident said staff worked 'closely' with police but that it was 'unaware of any concerns regarding anti-social behaviour', adding: 'We would always encourage anyone concerned about someone sleeping rough to report their concerns to us using Streetlink.'

A spokesperson for TfWM said: 'All bus services have been consolidated at a neighbouring shelter so this one is no longer required and it has therefore been earmarked for removal. The process to remove the shelter is underway, including disconnecting power supply, securing road work permits and scheduling the works with contractors.

Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) said the bus stop (pictured) was not in use and was due to be removed

'In the meantime, we're liaising with our partners including the police, council and local housing providers who are working to secure suitable long-term accommodation for the people involved. We thank the local community for their patience while the issue is resolved.'

Birmingham City Council confirmed the bus shelter 'will be removed soon' but no date had been set.

A council spokesperson said: 'Homeless support services have contacted the couple and made accommodation offers.

'The offers have not yet been taken up, but the offer of support and accommodation will continue to be there should they change their mind.'

It comes after the council insisted a roundabout in an unnamed location in the city was 'deserted' - despite evidence of homeless people living in tents surrounded by mountains of rubbish and used needles. 

Footage from last year showed the ground littered with discarded clothes, a tent strung up over the railings, abandoned belongings, old receipts and what appears to be sleeping bags. 

Bags, a suitcase, a discarded foldaway bed and a relatively spotless mirror sit just outside the sleeping quarters.

Cars could be heard tooting their horns from beyond the barrier of trees sheltering the hideaway from view.

Discarded clothing, cups and brightly coloured syringes can be seen amongst older, decomposed rubbish, while the local paper also claims to have found children's toys.

Last year, figures from London Councils, a cross-party group representing the capital's local authorities showed Over 4,000 people were recorded as sleeping rough on the capital's streets between July and September.

This figure was 12 percent up on the same period last year and with over half doing so for the first time.