A project which helps homeless people in Shrewsbury could be opening up in north Shropshire to extend the service to those living outside the county town.
The Shrewsbury Ark, which is located opposite Shrewsbury railway station, is a day centre offering advice and support to vulnerable people.
The centre, which opened earlier this year, is the only organisation run on a 9-5 basis in the county.
At a meeting of the scrutiny committee of North Shropshire District Council this week members voted in favour of the proposal which will now be considered by the new unitary council as part of a county-wide action plan to tackle homelessness.
The plan includes other initiatives such as improving services for people from different minority backgrounds or those with only basic English.
Rian Huxley, spokesperson for NSDC, said: “If it works well and there’s a need it could be rolled out but we need to do research first.”
Mike Morris, from Shropshire County Council and Shirley Harper, from Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council, both confirmed they were looking into the possibility of rolling out the Ark project.
A statement on behalf of both councils said: “The Shrewsbury Ark project is being closely evaluated during the current year and work will progress from April 2009 to complete the evaluation of its success and to see how we can build on the project to offer improved county wide services.”
Phil Griffiths, manager of the Shrewsbury Ark, said he welcomed the initiative which was recommended at a scrutiny committee meeting on Tuesday (June 17).
