New initiative to tackle affordable housing crisis in Masham areaDeveloper bids to make Knox Lane housing site fully affordableCouncil approves additional £1.4 million loan to its own housing companyDeveloper completes £20 million Spofforth affordable housing scheme‘We have no choice’: Councillors vote to cut affordable housing at three Harrogate sitesOwner of Starbeck ‘eyesore’ hopeful that ‘way is clear’ for redevelopmentAffordable housing to be cut at three major Harrogate housing sitesBusiness Breakfast: Contractor appointed to build 37 affordable homes in Ripon

Excellence deserves to be recognised and celebrated. The 2024 Stray Ferret Business Awards is the event to put your business, people or great initiative in the spotlight!

Make the most of your efforts by reading our top 10 tips for writing your submission for success.

Entries close on January 19, 2024.

The contract to build 37 affordable homes at the Old Goods Yard on Hutton Bank in Ripon has been awarded to a York company.

Yorkshire Housing has appointed York Science Park-based NuSpace Homes to construct the mixed-tenure homes on the site, which was previously home to warehouses used by companies such as Millennium Windows and Power Plastics.

The scheme will provide 37 homes for rent, rent to buy and shared ownership and is being supported by grant funding from Homes England.

Yorkshire Housing is the biggest housing association based solely in Yorkshire, and owns and manages around 20,000 homes across the region, including older people’s accommodation and homes for low-cost rent.

Outline planning permission for the Hutton Bank site was granted in 2021 by Harrogate Borough Council, which was replaced by North Yorkshire Council in April this year.

The site is in an area that is deemed as having high housing demand, and at the time outline planning was approved Harrogate Borough Council said the proposed development would help “regenerate a gateway site in one of the District’s main settlements”.

Demolition of the existing vacant buildings is set to start soon, and construction of the homes is due to start early in the new year.

Sian Webster, director of development at Yorkshire Housing, said:

“We’re really pleased to be working alongside NuSpace Homes to deliver these quality new homes.

“This development will regenerate a disused brownfield site and give more people the chance to have a place they’re proud to call home.

“There’s a need for more affordable homes across Yorkshire, and this scheme takes us a step closer to reaching our target of building 8,000 new homes across the county.”

It is hoped that the first homes will be ready to move into early in 2025, and the site will be completed by December the same year.

Charity given cash from financial services profits

A charity based in Harrogate has received a £1,000 Christmas gift from the Benefact Group.

The British Thyroid Foundation, which is based at Hornbeam Park, was nominated to win a share of £120,000 by members of the public as part of the Benefact Group’s annual 12 days of giving Christmas campaign.

Founded in 1887, the Gloucester-based Benefact Group is an international group of financial services businesses that gives all available profits to charities and good causes.

The British Thyroid Foundation, which supports people to live better with thyroid disease, was one of two causes chosen for Benefact Group awards in North Yorkshire; the other was Fulford St Oswald’s C E Primary School Parent Teacher Association.

Mark Hews, group chief executive of Benefact Group, said:

“We are thrilled to be giving £120,000 to 120 fantastic charitable causes across the country and I’d like to thank every single North Yorkshire resident that took the time to nominate a charity close to their hearts. We know that £1,000 can make a huge difference to the incredible work that charities do and we’re looking forward to seeing how this financial boost will change lives for the better.

“Benefact Group is the third largest corporate donor in the UK and has an ambition to be the biggest. Owned by a charity, Benefact Trust, all of its available profits go to good causes, and the more the Group grows, the more the Group can give.”

Read more:

 

Business Breakfast: Harrogate accountancy firm expands apprenticeship programme

Are you booked into our Stray Ferret Business Club’s breakfast event this Thursday at Banyan in Harrogate between 8-10am? 

The Business Club provides monthly opportunities to network, make new connections and hear local success stories. Get your tickets now by clicking or tapping here.

One of Harrogate’s oldest accountancy firms has expanded its apprenticeship programme.

A quarter of Lithgow Perkins’ twenty strong team now comprises of trainees at different stages of their accountancy career.

Partner Tom Rhodes, who began as an apprentice at Lithgow Perkins 11 years ago, said:

“Having a strong apprenticeship programme that gives young people the opportunity to develop their careers with us is vital not just for their future, but for ours too.”

Mr Rhodes added:

“As a small, independent firm, we can be flexible in creating opportunities for our trainees to work across a range of disciplines, supported by various specialists from our team.

“It’s not just a case of developing accountancy expertise; it’s also about building confidence in the ‘softer’ skills that are so important when dealing directly with clients.”

Read More:

Yorkshire Housing has begun to acquire finished homes at a new Knaresborough development. 

The homes,  built by Countryside Partnerships, feature a mix of tenures – shared ownership, affordable rent, rent to buy and market sale.

They will cater to individuals and families of different sizes.  The site is scheduled to be completed in 2024.

Development Project Manager, Steven Harrison said:  

“We’re thrilled to get the keys to the first 11 of 120 new homes in Boroughbridge.  

“Knaresborough is a thriving market town with a need for more affordable housing and this development significantly helps address this.

  “Yorkshire Housing has a goal of delivering 8,000 new homes and the site takes us closer to achieving this target.”  

 Andy Poyner, Managing Director at Countryside Partnerships said:   

“We’re delighted to have handed over the first homes for Yorkshire Housing at the Castle Locke development in Knaresborough.

“The need for more affordable homes across the region is acute and we’re proud to be supporting Yorkshire Housing with its ambitious development programme.” 

 

Decision delayed on new homes in Crimple Valley

A decision on controversial plans for houses near a busy road in south Harrogate has been delayed.

North Yorkshire Council had set a target date of yesterday for determining the plans for 17 homes in the Crimple Valley.

However, it has now confirmed the decision will not be made this week.

The council’s assistant director for planning, Trevor Watson, said:

“Our consideration of this application remains ongoing and will not be resolved in time to determine it this week.

“We are nevertheless committed to issuing a decision on the application as soon as is practicable and have informed the applicant of this.”

The plans for seven affordable homes and 10 self-build plots have attracted more than 350 objections from residents.

They focused on the location of the site in the Crimple Valley special landscape area, as well as access to the new homes from the A61 at the bottom of Almsford Bank.

The council’s highways department has also raised concerns about the applicant’s proposal to reduce the speed limit to 40mph between Pannal and Harrogate.

A previous application for 35 homes on the land was rejected by Harrogate Borough Council, whose local plan guiding development in the area did not include the site.

Plans submitted in 2019 for 35 homes were withdrawn, as was a scheme for 65 houses put forward in 2018.

Read more: