CALLS have been made for empty council-owned buildings to be used as temporary shelters for the homeless.

Green city councillors David Thomas and Craig Simmons said the move could help growing numbers of people sleeping rough in Oxford.

They have proposed a motion to Oxford City Council, calling on the authority to make its property available for the homeless when it becomes vacant.

It comes after squatters used the former VW garages in Iffley Road – owned by Wadham College – as temporary accommodation over the winter.

The Iffley Open House group occupied the buildings from New Year’s Eve but had to leave in February so that work could begin on its redevelopment.

Mr Thomas and Mr Simmons said this was an example of how other empty buildings could be used across the city – even if only temporarily.

The city council has a large property portfolio, spanning from council homes, tennis courts and offices, to farms, offices and even the Westgate Shopping Centre.

The Green Party motion says they could be ‘made freely available for use as temporary homeless shelters, to be run by community charity and voluntary organisations that are able and willing to do so’.

It adds: “Recent experience of Iffley Open House [shows] the willingness and capacity for such an undertaking exists within Oxford’s voluntary community.”

The city council should also encourage other major organisations with property, such as Oxford University and its colleges, to allow their buildings to be used temporarily when they are vacant, the motion says.

After leaving the garages owned by Wadham College, Iffley Open House moved to the former power station in Mill Street, owned by Oxford University.

It was later evicted but – as was the case with the garages – the university protested that sections being occupied were unsafe and not fit for living in.

Bob Price, leader of the Labour-run city council, echoed these concerns, adding: “Clearly the view will always be that if we have empty properties of significant size then we will always try to help these groups in some way.

“But if you do allow these buildings to be used it can be difficult when you want to release it for something else because it creates a great furore.

“What we need are spaces we can use in the long-term as homeless hostels. It is simply not sustainable to use temporary buildings instead of a long-term solution.

“It is a sticking plaster – because the fundamental issue here is we need a commitment from central government to properly fund housing to support people who have nowhere else to go.”

He also said many council properties that became vacant, such as shop units, did not have ‘the proper bathroom and cooking facilities’ for people to use.

The motion is due to be debated at city council meeting on Monday, at 5pm, in Oxford Town Hall.

The public can attend.