Gloucester named England's rough sleeping capital with 'highest rate' of any city
Summary
New analysis has ranked Gloucester as the city with the highest rough sleeping rate in the whole of England. Rough sleepers have become a common sight in the city in recent years with tents often spotted in shopping centre car parks, churchyards, green spaces and iconic landmarks like Kings Square.
Details
Now Government data analysed by emergency accommodation service Jigsaw Conferences has revealed the cities where rough sleepers are most at risk, with Gloucester recording the highest rate of any city in England. The group analysed data for 44 cities in England to uncover which are recording the highest rates of people sleeping rough each month per 100,000 people.
And the firm compared data from March 2025 to March 2026, to find the cities with the largest year-on-year changes. It found that Gloucester has the highest rough sleeping rate with 46.9 per 100,000 people, which has increased 23 per cent year-on-year. It’s the only city in the South West with increased rates, with Exeter, Bristol and Plymouth having decreased year-on-year, according to the data.
Gloucester City Council , which is responsible for housing, believes the figures should be taken in context as Gloucester is a relatively small city meaning per-capita calculations can produce disproportionately high rates. But Gloucester MP Alex McIntyre is concerned the number is rising despite the council receiving some £2.8 million more in funding to deal with homelessness.
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He has written to Steve Reed, the secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, to ask for an urgent meeting about what more can be done to bring the city’s rough sleeping rate down. “Anyone who has visited Gloucester city centre in recent years will know that the city is home to an unacceptably high number of people sleeping rough,” he said.
“These figures appear to be increasing, despite the fact that the City Council have received increased funding from the government to deal with homelessness, to the tune of £2.8 million. “When I took on the challenge of securing a government bailout for the council last year, I discovered that the council had actually underspent their homelessness budget.
So while vulnerable people are sleeping rough on our streets, the City Council have let yet more money slip through their fingers. “I have written to the secretary of state Steve Reed to ask for an urgent meeting about what more we can do to bring the number of people sleeping rough in Gloucester down.
But if I secure additional support from the government, I need the city council to actually use it to make a difference to people’s lives in our city.” City council chiefs say that the figures quoted refer to the total number of individuals identified as sleeping rough at any point during a month. In Gloucester, 65 people were recorded as sleeping rough during March 2026.
Report source: Gloucestershire Live