THERE are nearly 7,000 people waiting for a council house in the Vale of Glamorgan, according to the leader of the county council.

Vale of Glamorgan Council's leader, Cllr Lis Burnett, said at a full council meeting recently that 6,930 applicants were registered on the local authority's council housing scheme, Homes4U, as of Monday, September 23.

In response to Cllr Belinda Loveluck-Edwards' question on the latest housing and homelessness figures, the council leader also said 204 households were recorded as homeless.

Cllr Burnett said at the meeting, held on Monday, September 30: "A number of years ago, this council was justifiably proud of having no resident placed in temporary accommodation and that was 2013.

"However, there is a current housing crisis in the UK."

In February, 2024, it was reported that there were 6,200 people waiting for a council house in Vale of Glamorgan.

The Vale Council report which this statistic came from also stated that 19% of those on the list were in the highest need categories, included people fleeing domestic abuse and those with a life-threatening or life-limiting medical condition.

At that time, the council said it was seeking to continue its use of the Rhoose Holiday Inn Express to house people for another year, with one housing official at the local authority saying they were facing record numbers of people seeking help with housing.

Cllr Burnett also said that as of Monday, September 23, there were 71 people placed in hotels and bed and breakfasts.

There are currently four families with children who have been placed in a hotel or bed and breakfast, but over the past 12 months there have been 49 in total.

Vale of Glamorgan Council has a contract with Holiday Inn Express for the use if its Rhoose site that runs until March 31, 2025.

A Vale of Glamorgan Council spokesperson said the council "also currently uses a number of other hotels, council homes, a hostel and privately-rented housing as emergency accommodation for individuals and families who would otherwise be homeless, though the intention is to minimise the use of this type of temporary accommodation in the future."

At a Vale of Glamorgan Councils scrutiny committee meeting in February 2024, the local authority's operational manager for public housing services, Nick Jones, said families accommodated at the Holiday Inn Express in Rhoose typically moved on in three to five months.

However, with single people it is longer. Mr Jones said at the same meeting that single people at the hotel could be waiting up to 16 months or more for accommodation.