Housing leaders are celebrating a
partnership which has seen £67 million come into North Yorkshire to
provide housing in priority areas across the county over the last
three years.
The Local Government North Yorkshire and York
Housing Board saw new homes and housing improvements delivered
during a period of economic crisis.
More than 1800 new affordable homes were made
available; over 5000 homes benefited from improvement work;
nearly 6000 families were helped to avoid homelessness; a new safe
refuge for women and children escaping domestic abuse was built;
227 new specialist homes with care for the elderly were created;
and eco homes developments led the way in green
construction.
The programme also had a special focus on
rural affordable housing, with a specialist team of enablers
employed to develop 550 local homes for local people in the most
rural parts of the county.
The investment – from the former Regional
Housing Board and the Homes and Communities Agency – enabled North
Yorkshire authorities to coordinate their plans to deliver housing
in a number of priority areas.
“When we put together our investment plan in
early 2007 we couldn’t have known how important it was going to be
to provide new affordable homes for people in need,” said Cllr
Richard Foster, Chair of the Housing Board.
“Our plan took us through a time of turmoil
for the housing industry, and provided a much needed investment
into North Yorkshire and York not just to deliver new homes but
make sure existing homes are improved and safe.
“By working together we made the public
investment we received stretch much further, and have delivered
some excellent and much needed outcomes for local people. We know
we are living in different times now, and we cannot rely on so much
Central Government help in the current difficult economic
circumstances. But by continuing to focus on our local
priorities as a partnership of Councils and National Parks in North
Yorkshire, we believe we can continue to meet the local needs of
our communities, and direct our resources to good effect.”
Across Hambleton and Richmondshire over 350
affordable homes were delivered, and over 1300 homes
improved. And other projects contributed to the Districts’
housing priorities too – a new women’s refuge in Northallerton,
Extra Care accommodation in Richmond and Northallerton and rural
housing developments for local people in places such as Newton on
Ouse, Reeth, Catterick Village and Tollerton.
“We’ll continue to work together to deliver
our housing priorities,” commented Cllr Tim Swales, Cabinet Member
for Housing and Planning at Hambleton and Cllr Peter Wood, Housing
Spokesperson for Richmondshire.
“The needs of older people, as well as young
families struggling to get on the housing ladder are dealt with
through our plans. But we know we need to do more to continue
to provide affordable homes for people who need them, especially in
our rural communities.
“Many people are facing tough times in this
current economic climate, and we need to make sure we are taking
every opportunity to use the planning system, and to work with our
partners to provide more and better homes for all our
residents.”
- The Local Government North Yorkshire and York
Housing Board is the governing body of the North Yorkshire
Strategic Housing Partnership. It comprises elected Member
representation from all North Yorkshire Local Authorities and
National Parks, and representation from the Homes and Communities
Agency.
September 16, 2011