A property developer has described selling all his houses to build a shelter for rough sleepers. James Worthington, 47, bought a former carpet shop on Seedley Road in 2019 and was originally planning to develop the site into nine self-contained flats to sell on for profit.
But after the pandemic hit and planning permission was halted, James, who overcame homelessness before building up his company, offered the empty building, which was already equipped with showers, lighting and heating, to JVA CIC, an outreach group supporting veterans living on the streets.
He says he then decided to sell his house, refinance the Seedley Road site and transform it into a specialist homeless facility that would help get people off the streets for good.
