Former London guitar store set to house homeless and at-risk families

A city council in East London is set to use a former guitar store to house 55 homeless families amid increasing financial pressures.

According to Havering Council, one of its biggest costs is temporary accommodation. By entering a 10-year lease on a commercial building that has been vacant since the guitar store closed in October, it hopes to save $12.31 million over the next decade. The plan is for this guitar store-turned-temporary accommodation to house families for periods between 12 and 24 months.

Leasing the building, Chesham House, is estimated to cost the council $10.66 million, with a further $8.25 million needed to operate the temporary accommodation. However, according to London Councils – a collective of local governments in London – residents at risk of homelessness are otherwise housed in bed-and-breakfasts or hotels, which would cost the council even more.

The guitar store, DV247, was owned by the German parent company Music Store GmbH, which purchased it after it originally went into administration in 2013. DV247 had been operating out of the Chesham House building since June 2013.

Council leader Ray Morgon has commented positively on this development, telling the BBC that the initiative will have a “profound and positive” impact on the community and at-risk residents.