A HOMELESS shelter has been awarded a £1,000 grant despite not having planning permission to run its programme.

Grassroots project Off The Streets opened the new shelter at 505 London Road, Westcliff, at the beginning of September.

It submitted a retrospective change of use planning application to Southend Council on September 13, but this was rejected at the end of November.

Now, after being open 20 weeks without permission, the Aviva Community Fund has awarded the shelter £1,000 after it secured 2,500 votes and beat competition from 3,000 other community projects in the UK.

The organisation has stated it has helped 21 rough sleepers so far, while also helping five others secure jobs.

Guests include a 69-year-old woman, and recently helped a guest get a job and a house after he had lived on the streets for ten years.

The cash awarded to Off the Streets from the Aviva Community Fund will be used to pay for the Housing Justice Kitemark which is a national accreditation scheme for night shelters across the country and will also be spent on ongoing costs such as rent.

Rough sleepers are referred via Harp and then volunteers work with the guests in order to meet their needs.

The shelter runs on monthly donations from people who donate £10 a month. The rest is made up from monthly fundraisers.

Del Thomas, chair of Off the Streets, said: “Thank you so much to all those who voted for us and thank you to Desmond Swain MP who retweeted our cause as did Jason Manford.

“Off the Streets has always said that we were a stepping stone and not a stopping point. We work hard to help people get off the streets and into a more permanent housing.

“This funding will not only enable us to prove that we are successful through gaining the Housing Justice Kitemark but will enable us to stay open and help even more people.

“We are therefore delighted to win the award and to be able to continue the hard work that Kirsty Fields, our founder, and I started.

Mr Thomas said that Off the Streets would likely not appeal the council’s decision but may request a temporary change of use so it can work with the council to find a way forward.