Plans for a new accommodation centre for rough sleepers in Liverpool have fallen through - with £4 million of funding for the project returned to the government.
Plans were approved by the council's planning committee last March that would have seen a student housing block on Smithdown Lane converted to provide accommodation to support short-term homeless recovery in the city.
The project was set to be funded by the council and the government and was aimed at being the 'first step' for those sleeping rough on their journey towards long term accommodation.
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This came after Liverpool's previous rough sleeper centre, Labre House, was closed down during the Covid-19 pandemic.
But in Liverpool Council's recent budget proposals, it is made clear the plans are no longer happening - and the government support for them has been withdraw.
A section of the budget plan states: "For 2020/21 the approved budget for this scheme represented £4.054M of funding from the first tranche of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s (MHCLG) Next Steps Accommodation Programme combined with City Council matched funding of £6.393M.
"The funding was to be used to support short-term homeless recovery. i.e., 60 self-contained en-suite bedrooms with clustered kitchen and lounge facilities as well as up to 40 one bed apartments.
"The scheme was unable to progress, however, within the timescales detailed in the grant funding agreement and the budget was rolled forward from 2020/21 into 2021/22.
"The project officer has advised that due to project complexities it has meant that grant funding timelines could not be met and thus funding has been formally withdrawn by MHCLG."
Asked to explain why the project had fallen through and the funding returned, a spokesperson for Liverpool City Council said: “It is deeply unfortunate that the council was unable to progress with the Smithdown Lane project.
"The funding timescales were very tight and once it became clear that building could not be used, the council was unable to identify an alternative building within the deadline.
"The council recognises the need to create accommodation for those at risk of rough sleeping and is working hard with partners to identify suitable locations."
The authority said it has now created 32 units with the YMCA in the Princes Park area as part of the 'First Step from the Street' plan.
The spokesperson added: "We recently supported a number of registered social landlords in their funding bid to establish a further 130 rooms across the city.”
The council said this provision exceeds what would have been on offer in Smithdown Lane.
But news of the loss of funding has not gone down well with those involved with homelessness in the city - especially as the council is looking to save around £25m from its budget next month.
Michelle Langan, who runs the Papercup Project rough sleeping charity in the city, said: "The news that government funding for a new shelter in Liverpool has been revoked is a kick in the teeth.
"With all of the budget cut announcements across the city, it seems unlikely that the council will progress with this - the report says that this project will be removed from the capital programme.
"Homelessness sadly isn't an issue that is going away anytime soon, and cuts to provision will just make the issue worse across the city."
Liverpool Labour councillor Anthony Lavelle, who volunteers with Papercup tweeted on Friday to say: "As someone who has volunteered for a homeless charity for many years in Liverpool, I will be asking serious questions about how this has been allowed to happen."
His tweet later appeared to be deleted.
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