Former homeless hostel could be converted to social housing in Harrogate

Plans have been submitted to convert a Harrogate former homeless hostel into social housing.

Last summer, Harrogate Borough Council unveiled plans to build a modest number of social homes at seven sites it owns across the district.

The plans included converting Cavendish House on Robert Street which was operated by the council from 1983 until November 2021 when it closed.

In 2021, the council opened a new homeless centre called Fern House in Starbeck.

The former Robert Street hostel had nine bedsits, which in plans registered last week would be converted into six self-contained apartments.

Average house prices are around 11 times the median annual income of people who work in Harrogate and it has made the area one of the most unaffordable places to live in England.

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In planning documents published before it was abolished at the end of March, Harrogate Borough Council said converting Cavendish House would make a small dent in its social housing waiting list, which now features over 2,100 households.

In 1974, the council owned 7,000 council houses across the Harrogate district but this has fallen to 3,800 since the Conservative government introduced the Right to Buy scheme in the 1980s.

Planning documents state:

“The building was utilised previously as temporary accommodation for single homeless households, however it is no longer fit for purpose and does not meet the needs of this client group (Fern House, a new facility for the same client group, has recently been completed at Spa Lane).

“The building has been empty since November 2021. As such, it has a negative impact on residential amenity and increasingly risks attracting anti-social behaviour.

“The development proposals will deliver much needed affordable accommodation in a redundant building and a highly sustainable location, complying full with national and local planning policy guidance.”

In March, plans were approved to build one two-bedroom social home at a council-owned plot of land in Huby.

The council also hopes to develop a site on Halfpenny Lane in Knaresborough into 14 homes for market sale, social rent and shared ownership.

North Yorkshire Council, which succeeded Harrogate Borough Council, will make a decision on the plan at a later date.

Inquest finds homeless Harrogate man endured a ‘drug-related death’

An inquest heard that a “fatal selection of drugs” was found in the body of a 40-year-old Harrogate homeless man.

Matthew Luke Chandler, a resident at Harrogate Homeless Project‘s hostel on Bower Street, was found dead by staff on August 20, 2021.

Staff grew concerned after Mr Chandler had not been seen since the previous evening. After discovering him unconscious they performed CPR but he was certified dead by paramedics at 4.40pm.

Yesterday’s inquest in Northallerton heard Mr Chandler had been homeless “most of his adult life” and was diagnosed with depression and anxiety in 2014.

His GP said he had a history of drug misuse and had been previously referred to substance misuse services in North Yorkshire.

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Coroner John Bainbridge read evidence from the police, which found no signs of a struggle or disturbance.

The police statement added that besides pain relief medication prescribed to Mr Chandler after he broke his leg, there were no other drugs to be found in his room at the hostel.

Mr Bainbridge added Mr Chandler did not leave a note and there was no indication from friends and others living in the hostel that he was thinking of ending his life.

The coroner said he would disregard suicide as a cause of death because there was no evidence to indicate Mr Chandler intended to end his life.

Concluding the inquest, Mr Bainbridge said:

“A toxicology report found a fatal selection of drugs in Mr Chandler’s system that contributed to his death. Therefore I believe it is safe legally and scientifically to make a conclusion that his death was drug related.”