The first wave of affordable housing that will be funded by a new council tax premium on second homes have been identified.
North Yorkshire Council became one of the first authorities in the UK to introduce a 100 per cent premium for council tax bills on second homes in April last year.
The new scheme effectively doubled council tax bills for second homeowners and is due to raise more than £10 million each year. That money will be used to help to address the critical need for affordable housing across the county.
The introduction of the council tax premium aims to bring second homes back into use for local families in some of the county’s most desirable locations.
It is hoped that some second homes owners may decide to put their properties back on the market when faced with the council tax premium to provide the opportunity for local people to purchase them.
But for those properties that remain as second homes, the council tax premium will generate millions of pounds in funding for key housing projects – with more than 500 extra affordable homes to be developed over the next four years as a result.
The first project to benefit from the funding has now been identified. A planning application has been submitted for a site in Hunmanby, and should it be successful, the new funding will be allocated to the Northallerton-based housing association, Broadacres, to build a total of 15 affordable homes.
North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for housing, Cllr Simon Myers, said:
A lack of affordable housing is one of the biggest challenges we face in North Yorkshire.
As the geographically largest council in England, this is a hugely complex issue. We are committed to doing all we can to allow people to live in the places that they wish to.
The council tax premium was introduced to aim to bring second homes back into use for our communities. There are more than 9,000 people on housing waiting lists across North Yorkshire and over 8,200 second homes.
The additional funding from the council tax premium will be used to tackle a range of housing issues that we are facing, including the building of new affordable homes, securing additional temporary accommodation and supported housing.
Funding raised through the council tax premium will see £12 million committed to the affordable housing delivery fund and a further £4 million to the rural housing delivery fund over the next four years.
A total of £435,000 will be taken from the affordable housing delivery fund to support Broadacres with building 15 affordable homes on land to the south of Sands Lane, Hunmanby, subject to planning permission being granted.
Cllr Myers added:
It is great that the first housing project to directly benefit from this funding has now been identified.
We are looking forward to delivering hundreds of additional high-quality affordable homes for our communities over the next few years.
The director of development and investment at Broadacres, Michael Jones, welcomed the funding:
Broadacres are committed to delivering more affordable homes for communities across North Yorkshire and this funding is a great opportunity bring more projects forward.
The project in Hunmanby will provide 15 new high quality affordable homes and construction is set to commence in the next few months. This partnership with the council is very welcome and Broadacres are thankful for their support.
While about 800 new affordable homes have been developed each year across North Yorkshire over the past decade, there is still a lack of properties to meet demand.
As well as supporting the building of hundreds of new homes through the affordable housing delivery fund and rural housing delivery fund, money generated from the council tax premium is also set to support other council priorities.
A total of £2 million is set to be used for schemes including regeneration projects and £4 million would be set aside to develop a 20-bed supported housing scheme on the coast for people with complex needs who have a history of rough sleeping.
A further £12 million is due to be used to develop a commissioning framework for supported housing.
The council is also set to work alongside the Government’s housing agency, Homes England, and the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority to maximise the use of available grants and to deliver shared objectives to introduce more affordable housing.
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Image attached: A scenic shot of Commondale in the North York Moors. It is hoped that some second homes owners, particularly in rural and coastal locations, will put their properties back on the market when faced with the council tax premium to provide the opportunity for local people to purchase them.
