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04

Mar 2023

Last Updated: 03/03/2023
Environment
Environment

Council-backed Masham project to show how rural towns can keep young people

by Thomas Barrett Local Democracy Reporter

| 04 Mar, 2023
Comment

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screenshot-2023-01-30-13-37-33
How 15 Silver Street, Masham, currently looks.

A group behind an ambitious project in Masham hopes it will become an example in how to keep young people living in rural communities.

MPs published a report last year found that rural economies can struggle due to a lack of affordable housing for young people.

It said the government’s definition of affordable housing was misleading with new builds often out of reach for many.

According to the report, this has resulted in young people moving away in their droves from the places they grew up in — taking their money with them, too.

To help tackle the problem, a not-for-profit company called Peacock and Verity Community Spaces (P&VCS) hopes to offer four genuinely affordable homes that will only be available to people with links to Masham.

However,  housing is just one element of the unique project. It will also include an Edwardian-style tea room, a grocery, a post office and a heritage centre.

P&VCS has already secured full planning permission to refurbish 15 Silver Street, a building with a long and storied history.

As reported in January, the project has won £222,000 in funding from Harrogate Borough Council and has also been supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund with a £71,000 grant.




Read More:



  • Affordable housing scheme in Masham wins £150,000 funding

  • Post office to return to Masham in £1.5m heritage scheme






The group’s chair Alan Hodges told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the project will have many benefits for Masham. 

He said:

“[If housing is unaffordable] it means you lose young labour out of the rural community but by providing four low-cost self-contained units we will be able  to keep people in.”


P&VCS’ mission statement states the homes in Masham will only be available to people with family, work or historic links to the area.

This means there’s no chance that the apartments could be rented out as holiday homes or be sold on for a profit.

Mr Hodges added:

“Our housing association, Karbon, will control the allocation policy. We’re very clear. The homes will go to local people who are already here. It’s something we’ll guard against.”


Storied history


Mr Hodges said the project will provide six full-time jobs and learning opportunities for residents and visitors.

The ground floor will be restored into a Victorian grocers from when the building was in its heyday and there will be an Edwardian-style tearoom inspired by the cafe that was part of the building in the 1900s.

Peacock and Verity Masham shop

An Illustration Of What Peacock & Verity Will Look Like Once Complete C Peacock & Verity.



It will also bring a Post Office counter back to Masham and create a new heritage centre celebrating the story of the town and the area.

It’s a back-to-the-future approach to development that Mr Hodges believes will show similar towns how community-led projects can grow rural economies.

And to give the project an even more local touch, it will tap into Masham’s rich  sheep-farming heritage by using wool to insulate the building with help from Leeds Beckett University. 

Mr Hodges added:

“Local farmers get less for sheep wool than it costs to shear. This creates an alternative use that’s both ecological and effective.
“We’re looking to the future and hope it will be seen as an exemplar project of how to do things.”