The containers will be serve as a stepping stone for homeless people seeking permanent accommodation(Image: Tony King Architects)Homeless families will soon be offered accommodation in shipping containers, which have been transformed into luxury homes.
Cardiff Council has paid for 13 containers, each featuring solar panels and a sprinkler system, to be set up in the city next month to provide temporary housing for the homeless.
Artist’s impressions of the interior of the units show the rooms as tastefully designed, brightly lit and well-furnished.
Preparation works at the site are due to start this month, with the delivery of the containers scheduled for June, followed by a 20-week construction project.
Kath Palmer, chief executive of Cadwyn Housing, which is in charge of the scheme, said: “We need to find new ways of providing safe and secure accommodation for our homeless families in Cardiff and this project provides much needed temporary housing whilst a longer term housing solution can be found.”The container homes have been designed so they can be moved easily to an alternative location in the future, either all together or in smaller groups to different sites.
There will be seven two-bedroom homes, comprising of a 40ft and a 20ft container, and six one-bedroom homes, made from a 40ft container.
The two-bed units will have direct access to a fenced garden so children have a safe space to play and the first-floor one-bed units will all have a roof terrace and a front door.
There will be a 10-week supervised construction training programme for local people with responsibility for fitting out a complete container.
Cardiff Council also plans to set up eight more shipping container homes for homeless families at Greenfarm hostel in Ely.
Lynda Thorne, Cardiff Council’s cabinet member for housing and communities, said the shipping containers were a cost-effective solution to providing homes for those in need in the city.
