Prince William visited Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) on Friday to officially launch a new Homewards Activator partnership, which will help to deliver new homes across the six Homewards locations.
The Prince of Wales, 42, began the day by visting Millenium House in Poole to launch a new partnership between Homewards - his project aimed at combating homelessness - and Lloyds Banking Group [LBG], which will provide the housing project with an initial £50 million in new lending to support small and medium-sized housing providers and charities in Homewards locations.
The partnership aims to break down barriers in order for organisations to have the opportunity to access finance that was not previously available to them.
It will also bring together local and regional government, not-for-profits and financial institutions to identify what is needed and to create a clear pathway to provide financial support.
Kensington Palace said it is hoped the organisations will be able to build, develop, or refurbish homes with the support and help of Lloyds Banking Group.
During his visit to Millenium House today, an 11-bed mental health supported housing scheme, the prince met with staff and residents to hear about their experiences and the importance of developing new housing projects.
The residence is run by Bournemouth Churches Housing Association (BCHA), which has previously benefitted from Lloyds Banking Group’s support and is an example of the type of organisation who will benefit from this new partnership with Homewards and Lloyds Banking Group.
As well as meeting current residents, William also spoke to former residents who have been supported into permanent accommodation by the organisation.
This afternoon, the future King, 42, also carried out a second engagement in the area that saw him visit Bournemouth and Poole College, to see how the Homewards BCP has helped to bring local organisations together to create successful employment programmes.
The Homewards BCP Coalition members Bournemouth and Poole College, Sunseeker International, and Faithworks were brought together through the Homewards programme to help tackle homelessness in the area. Since September 2023, the groups have worked together to create a range of employment pathways which can help people at risk of homelessness.
Among the new employment schemes is a Job Ready Programme, which is taught at Bournemouth and Poole College, with Faithworks referring people at risk of or experiencing homelessness to the scheme. Job Ready Course participants can then interview for the Sunseeker Boat Building Programme, which is taught across Bournemouth and Poole College’s Sunseeker Skills Academy, and at the Sunseeker Shipyard.
This offers a 12-week paid training programme where candidates can stay on and develop their skills at the Sunseeker Shipyard. Through doing this, individuals can work towards a nationally recognised qualification and permanent employment opportunities.
This was explained to the Prince of Wales this afternoon during his visit to the Sunseeker Skills Academy where he met organisations involved in creating the programme.
The prince, who is not accompanied by Princess Kate today, also met individuals who have completed the course and are now in permanent roles at Sunseeker as a result of being originally referred via Faithworks.
Kensington Palace said Bournemouth and Poole College is also now running and developing other employment pathways in areas such as sitework, warehousing and barista training.
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