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29
Apr
Funding boost to convert former homeless hostel in Harrogate
North Yorkshire Council has received a funding boost to convert a former homeless hostel into housing.
The council approved plans to convert Cavendish House on Harrogate's Robert Street into one and two-bedroom flats in September 2023.
The hostel was operated by Harrogate Borough Council from 1983 until it closed in November 2021.
The redundant building was described as being “no longer fit for use” and “long-term empty” but is now set for a new lease of life.
According to a council report, a tender process to develop the site into six shared ownership homes has been undertaken and work at the site is underway.
The authority recently approved an additional £150,000 of grant funding from Homes England – a non-departmental public body – to improve the “financial feasibility” of the scheme.
The report says Homes England’s affordable homes programme provides grants to support the capital costs of developing affordable housing for rent or sale.
It adds in order to receive the funding, the council was required to become an investment partner. This enables the authority to bid for and receive funding from Homes England under the programme.
The funding came as part of Home England’s £7.39 billion pot, which was made available in April 2021 and aims to deliver 130,000 affordable homes outside of London by March 2026.
A further £300 million was announced in February this year to top up the current programme – £240 million of which will be allocated to projects outside of London.
According to the council report, Cavendish House already benefits from brownfield housing funding of £84,000.
The remainder of the works will be backed by the council’s housing revenue account, which will fund the pledged delivery of the 500 new homes across the county by 2029.
The council said there is a “significant demand” from first time buyers across North Yorkshire for home ownership affordable to those on local incomes.
The site is “ideally located to meet the needs of first time buyers”, the report says, adding shared ownership developments will also boost local economy.
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