COUNCIL chiefs have declared there is more work to be done around homelessness as the number of rough sleepers on Stratford’s streets has risen.
Stratford District Council is required by central government to carry out an annual rough sleeper count on a specific night during October/November. The most recent count took place on the night/early morning of November 11 and November 12 2025.
The council and its partners have been working hard to reduce rough sleeping, but the number reported sleeping outside increased during 2024 and 2025, in line with national trends. All regions of England have seen an increase in rough sleeping since 2022.
This year’s count concluded there were 14 rough sleepers outside on the selected night. From a height of 17 in 2017, this compares with ten in 2018, six in 2019, four in 2020, three in 2021, four in 2022, two in 2023 and ten in 2024.
Rough sleeping is a complex issue and there is no single, straightforward solution. Structural factors such as poverty, inequality, limited housing supply, unaffordable rents and barriers to employment and benefits all contribute.
In addition, individual experiences, including poor mental or physical health, substance misuse, trauma and adverse childhood experiences, can increase a person’s vulnerability to sleeping rough.
SDC continues to invest in measures that prevent homelessness and rough sleeping and to shorten the time anyone spends on the streets. This is delivered through its housing strategy, partnership work with agencies such as Spring and P3, and the Housing Advice Team’s statutory duties under homelessness legislation.
SDC’s housing spokesperson Coun Liz Coles said: “Once again, the council has seen an increase in the number of people sleeping rough on our streets. Rough sleeping is the most obvious and easily recognised form of homelessness, as it is often seen directly in public spaces. While there is now improved local provision for those who end up rough sleeping, the increasing numbers we’ve seen show there is still work to be done, particularly around preventing homelessness in the first place. The council is committed to continue to work with its partners to address this problem across our district.”
