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04
Dec
Almshouses in Harrogate undergo £250,000 refurbishment
Three almshouses in Harrogate have undergone refurbishments costing more than £80,000 each
The newly renovated homes at Rogers Square were formally opened yesterday (December 3) by Councillor Chris Aldred, the charter mayor of Harrogate.
Rogers Square, on Belford Road, provides 15 homes to people over the age of 60 who have experienced hardship and have a link with Harrogate or Bradford.
Mill owner George Rogers opened the houses in 1868 for retired employees of his factory, Beehive Mill in Bradford.
He gifted this unique form of low-cost social housing to the town’s needy over 150 years ago. Now the properties are provided by the charity Rogers’ Almshouses.
For many years the site hosted 12 homes, but three years ago other parts of the building were refurbished into extra housing.
All 15 units are now occupied and houses 1, 6 and 9 have undergone refurbishments costing around £84,000 each.
Rogers Square Harrogate Almhouses
Funding has come from a combination of rent and a grant from government housing agency Homes England.
Many of the grade two listed Victorian buildings are in need of renovation and the long-term plan is to future-proof the entire site.
Trustee and chartered surveyor Andrew Kempston-Parkes told the Stray Ferret seven more homes needed renovating.
He said:
What we’ve done so far is phenomenal, but we still have the others to do. It is likely to cost over half a million and money is always a problem. Our goal is to provide houses for the next 50 years.
Andrew Kempston-Parkes
Residents, trustees and the charter mayor were present at yesterday's grand opening.
The Dean of Bradford Cathedral, the Very Reverand Andy Bowerman, who is also a trustee of Rogers’ Almshouses, dedicated and blessed the homes.
He said:
These trustees here have a real desire to provide you with affordable housing but also really high-quality housing I think that is really a testament to the legacy that we have.
Stuart Holland, chair of Rogers’ Almshouses, said:
Almshouses are special. They provide safe, secure accommodation at low cost and what makes them especially so is that they have a caring board of trustees all volunteers who strive to encourage a community where independent living is possible.
As George Rogers looks down on us now, I’m sure he would be proud of the community he founded which continues to flourish.
See our photos below of the interior of one of the renovated almshouses.
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