A senior Harrogate councillor has agreed to offer taxpayers’ cash to buy three empty homes and bring them back into use.
Councillor Mike Chambers, cabinet member for housing and safer communities at Harrogate Borough Council, signed off a decision at a meeting yesterday to make offers for the homes on Greenfields Drive and Electric Avenue in Harrogate, and Beech Lane in Spofforth.
If agreed by the owners, the council will appoint an independent valuer to provide a market valuation of the properties before selling them on the open market.
But if the offers are ignored or refused, enforcement action will be taken through compulsory purchase orders.
Councillor Chambers said:
“Empty properties are a blight for communities and the council will use all available power to bring them back into use, including assistance and enforcement action when necessary.
“Enforcement is the last choice and we have a range of options available to homeowners to assist them in returning their property to use.
“This includes the Empty Homes Loan made available last month. Owners with a property that has been empty for six months or longer can apply for a loan to undertake essential works on a property to return it to use.”
There are currently 811 properties across the district that have been empty for more than six months – a figure which has risen from 774 in May.
Of the latest figure, 215 have been empty and unfurnished for over two years, while 31 have been empty for over ten years.
The council has previously admitted there is a “desperate” lack of affordable homes in the district and said it was working hard to bring empty properties back into use.
It has also set aside around £2.5m to purchase these properties from their owners.
There are numerous reasons properties can lie empty. In some instances, landlords cannot afford to renovate their property to sell or rent out.
Properties may also have been inherited and the new owners don’t know what to do with them, while others can also fall below safety standards which means they sit vacant until the problems are fixed.
As well as carrying out compulsory purchase orders, councils also have powers to charge an additional 100% council tax on properties that have been empty for two years.
Empty dwelling management orders can also be issued for long term empty properties that are attracting vandalism and causing a nuisance to the community.
Housing developer dubbed ‘insensitive’ over Kingsley street namesResidents have called Barratt Homes “ignorant” and “insensitive” for its choice of names for two new roads on one of its housing developments.
Barratt is building 100 homes on a former green field off Kingsley Drive near Knaresborough Road.
The development, which is called Kingsley Meadows, includes new roads Meadow Place and Wildflower Close, which has attracted the ire of Kingsley Ward Action Group who think the names are cruelly ironic.
Locals fought against the proposals and submitted 155 objections with many lamenting the loss of green space. The application was initially refused by Harrogate Borough Council in 2015 because councillors agreed it would “unduly harm the rural pastoral character” of the area.
However, the application came during the period when HBC had no Local Plan, and the developer succeeded in overturning the decision on appeal.
Credit – Bill Shaw
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John Hansard from Kingsley Ward Action Group told the Stray Ferret it was “ironic” that the developer had chosen to give the new roads these names, considering what was there before.
A field on Kingsley Drive, with a crane from the Kingsley Meadows development in the background. Bill Shaw.
Mr Hansard accused the developer of “crass insensitivity and commercialism”.
He added:
“Why not stop at this, why not have a Deer Avenue, a Fox Drive or a Badger Close, after the animals whose habitats they’re destroying?
“These people are ignorant, thoughtless and only interested in making a fast buck at the expense of communities and the environment.”
A spokesperson for Barratt Homes said:
Are Harrogate’s high housing costs to blame for the hospitality recruitment crisis?“The road names at Kingsley Meadows have been chosen in consistency with the name of the development itself and to reflect the scenery of its surroundings. The names were certainly not intended to cause offence to local residents and were required to meet the approval of Harrogate Borough Council before being confirmed.
“We have always been fully committed to supporting the ecology and biodiversity at Kingsley Meadows and its surrounding areas. As well as planting a number of new trees and enhancing the nearby watercourse with wetland wildflowers, we have installed hedgehog highways across the development and a wildlife friendly garden at its show home.”
A recruitment crisis at Betty’s forced the famous cafe to close its doors early last week — and other Harrogate hotels, pubs, and restaurants have spoken of difficulties in employing people.
But could Harrogate’s notoriously high rental and property costs be to blame?
The average rental property in Harrogate for a one-bedroom flat is £656 a month. For an adult earning full-time minimum wage at a local bar, this would make up more than half their monthly pay packet — and that’s before council tax, bills and other expenses.
The Stray Ferret spoke to two people who work in housing in Harrogate to ask if the two are linked.
Sarah Hart helped create Harrogate Community Land Trust four years ago after becoming demoralised with the cost of housing in the town.
She thinks high living costs have made Harrogate an unviable option for people earning hospitality wages. She predicts more venues will be forced to reduce their opening hours due to staff shortages.
“House prices and rents have been pushed up even further whilst wages haven’t. It’s a crucial link and we’re at a critical point. It’s not a housing crisis, it’s becoming an armageddon situation.”
Ms Hart says that with both petrol prices and housing costs increasing, hospitality workers who could commute to Harrogate from Bradford and Leeds will decide to find jobs closer to home.
She believes an intervention in the housing market such as rent caps is needed so hospitality workers can afford to rent in the town.
Rent caps have been used in Germany and the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan also believes it could help solve the housing inequalities in the capital.
Ms Hart added:
“Housing in Harrogate benefits the few and not the many.
“If people had lower rent they’d have a higher disposable income.
“I met someone from Harrogate paying 60% in housing costs. There’s nothing left at the end of the day. No money for summer holidays or for her kids to do to stuff. If she had a lower rent she’d have money to spend in the local economy. It’s as basic as it gets.”
Harrogate-based property consultant Alex Goldstein believes that job shortages in hospitality are primarily due to covid and not high property or rental prices.
Mr Goldstein said property prices and rents have increased in Harrogate whilst wages have stagnated but he believes it’s wrong to suggest that Harrogate’s economy is overly dependent on low-paid hospitality workers. He thinks that increasing housing costs are good for the town as it brings in investment.
He said:
“Some people feel they’ve been left out in the cold. You’ve got to earn your keep. If you can’t afford to live in Harrogate you should move elsewhere.
“You work up the ladder and Harrogate opens up for you. You’ve got to bide your time. If you can’t afford something, you can’t afford it. A lot of society wants it here and the world doesn’t work like that.”
On the subject of rent caps, Mr Goldstein said the “draconian” measure would unfairly hurt investors who purchase buy-to-let properties in Harrogate which he believes gives the local economy a boost. He said: “We can’t make sweeping changes to the market”.
He added:
“Harrogate has always been an expensive part of the world and it’s increased hugely.
“But there will always be winners and losers.
“I would like to live in Mayfair with a Lamborghini, but I can’t afford it.”
Owners of Harrogate hospitality venues have complained for years that it’s not easy to fill roles pulling pints or waiting tables in the town.
Whether this is because of low wages, Brexit, undesirable working conditions, too many bars and restaurants, or high living costs, it is difficult to pinpoint the exact reason.
But in Harrogate, there is a feeling the issue of attracting and keeping good hospitality staff won’t be solved anytime soon.
Are you looking for a job or have a job vacancy you need to promote to as many people as possible? Take a look at the Stray Ferret jobs page to see the latest jobs or to submit a new one. Every job is placed on our homepage and posted on our social media channels.
Tomorrow we’ll be looking at the acute shortage of chefs and the impact of Brexit on the recruitment crisis.
Harrogate Borough Council is set to offer £811,000 for three empty homes in the district.
The homes, which are on Greenfields Drive and Electic Avenue in Harrogate, and Beech Lane in Spofforth, would not be used for social housing but instead would be sold on by HBC on the open market should the offers be accepted by the owners.
Any profits made would go back into buying more empty homes so they can be brought back into use.
There are currently 811 properties across the district that have been empty for six months or longer. Of these, 215 have been empty and unfurnished for over two years. 31 have been empty for over ten years.
The report says:
“Empty homes represent a wasted housing resource; they also pose other problems for local authorities, owners, neighbours, emergency services and the environment. They are often a blemish on an area and can be subject to vandalism and anti-social behaviour.”
A report will go before HBC’s cabinet member for housing and safer communities, Conservative Cllr Mike Chambers, next week that asks him to rubber stamp the move.
If the council’s offers on the three homes are not accepted the report says HBC will consider enforcement action, such as compulsory purchase.
Woman says it’s ‘impossible’ to move to Harrogate whilst on Universal CreditA woman wanting to rent a property in Harrogate says “it seems impossible” to find an estate agent that will accept her because she receives Universal Credit.
Karen Andrew was born and brought up in Harrogate but has lived in Essex for the last 20 years.
After splitting up with her partner she wants to return to be closer to her family but said she feels discriminated against by estate agents and landlords because of her situation.
She also owns a three-year-old Staffy-cross dog which has posed another obstacle in her search for somewhere to live.
She told the Stray Ferret:
“The second you mention Universal Credit or a dog they don’t want to know.
“I want to move back to my hometown and I didn’t think it would be this difficult.”
Ms Andrew, who works part-time at a school and hopes to find a new job in Harrogate, said estate agents need to “look at the bigger picture”.
“Just because you have a dog and are on Universal Credit you’re not a scumbag.”
Universal Credit is a monthly payment for people on low incomes or out of work. It can include a housing element at a rate that is set by the local authority. Ms Andrew is looking for a one-bedroom property in Harrogate at the Local Housing Allowance rate of £523.55.
Ms Andrew said one estate agent, Linley & Simpson, would only recommend her as a tenant to their landlords if she provided six months’ rent upfront which she said she does not have.
She is currently in limbo in Essex whilst she searches for a property in Harrogate that accepts her.
She added:
“We are meant to be a nation of dog and pet lovers but I haven’t found this to be the case while looking for a property to rent.
“Claiming Universal Credit does not mean that you can’t be bothered or don’t want to work. Lots of people on Universal Credit are working but are on a low income.”
A spokesperson for Linley & Simpson told the Stray Ferret that all tenants have to pass a credit check from Goodlord that assesses their financial situation.
They said any decision to allow pets is up to the landlord but that they would be happy to speak to Ms Andrew again to discuss her situation.
They added:
“Our job as the agent is to find a suitable tenant who is capable of covering the cost of the rent for the duration of the tenancy. The same criteria is applied to all applicants.”
Earlier this year, the National Residential Landlords Association called on the government to improve the Universal Credit administration system so the benefit can better support tenants.
Plans to convert Harrogate church hall into townhousesPlans have been submitted to convert a hall that is part of a Grade II listed church in Harrogate into townhouses.
Inglehurst Property has applied to Harrogate Borough Council to create two three-bedroom properties for older people in the hall of Trinity Methodist Church, on Trinity Road, near the Stray.
Under the proposals, a new slate roof would be added to the building as well as an extra floor to accommodate the bedrooms and bathrooms.
Planning documents say the methodist church closed the hall several years ago to raise funds to repair the adjoining church, which opened in 1879.
The hall was sold to the First Church of Christ Scientist, which used it for services until membership dwindled.
Last year, Harrogate’s Muslim community identified the hall as a site for the district’s first mosque but this does not appear to have progressed.
Bilton garages could be demolished for social housingHarrogate Borough Council is proposing to demolish seven garages in Bilton to make way for social housing.
The garages are on Woodfield Close, close to the iron bridge in the Harrogate suburb.
A report presented this week to the council’s cabinet member for housing, the Conservative councillor Mike Chambers says two one-bedroom homes could be built on the site, and more homes might be possible subject to planning permission.
The report says there are 24 garages but only 12 are occupied. Of these, four are used by local residents. It proposes demolishing seven to allow for the development.
The council also plans to build a two-bed property for social rented housing on grassland it maintains on the corner of Poplar Crescent and Poplar Grove.
According to the report, the grassland “is not used for any particular purpose and has no amenity value”.
If the council goes ahead with the plan, it would apply for funding from the government’s £433 million Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme, which aims to get up to 6,000 rough sleepers into longer term accommodation.
Plans for 36 homes in Goldsborough sent back to drawing board
The council owns and rents out garages across the district and has increasingly looked at the pockets of land as a way to build social housing.
There are currently over 1,700 people on the council’s social housing waiting list.
Last month, the council approved a plan from its own housing team to build three council houses at the sites of two disused garage blocks in Ripon.
Bid to build 170 homes in Knaresborough refused againPlans for a major housing development behind a Knaresborough school have been refused for the second time in two years because of concerns about the “poor” layout and design.
Proposals for 218 homes near Meadowside Academy were first rejected by Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee in October 2019.
Applicant Geoffrey Holland then scaled back house numbers for the scheme to 170 in his second push for approval. However, these latest plans were thrown out again by councillors at a meeting on Tuesday.
Recommending refusal, council planning officer Kate Broadbank said the Water Lane scheme had a number of “fundamental” issues.
She said:
“One of the site allocation requirements is the provision of a circular recreation route – and this has been provided around the edge of the site.
“However, it is considered to be unsatisfactory, as it is a narrow path between the site boundary and side elevations of dwellings, meaning it is not very well overlooked and would not provide a safe, attractive route.
“The same situation occurred around the open space and children’s play area where houses backed onto this.
“The applicant has tried to overcome this by turning some houses around to face onto the path and play area, however, this has led to an issue with rear gardens now backing onto the streets.
“On the whole, the scheme is considered to lack character or a sense of place.”
At Tuesday’s meeting, an agent for Mr Holland urged the committee to not vote for refusal but instead defer a decision on the plans.
This, again, was rejected by councillors.
The agent said:
“If the layout was fundamentally flawed, we should have been told that six months ago, not last week.
“I urge the committee, bearing in mind that most of the issues have been resolved, that the item be deferred for the final layout negotiations to take place.”
Ms Broadbank responded to say she did not believe a deferral would bring about major improvements to the key parts of the scheme, particularly the layout.
She said:
“My view is that there would not be any fundamental change to the layout if it was to be deferred. We have been in negotiations for quite a long time now and my main concerns were expressed to the applicant last year.
“The revisions I have received to date have not overcome the fundamental issues with the layout which I have to say is probably driven by the number of units.”
The site is allocated for more than 148 homes in the Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-2035, which outlines development in the district until 2035. This means development will happen once councillors are satisfied with detailed plans.
The latest proposals included a mix of one and two-bedroom apartments, as well as two, three and four-bedroom houses.
A total of 81 of these properties would have been classed as affordable.
More than 80 residents had lodged objections against the plans, which did not receive a single letter of support.
Property Gold: The empty homes scandal – who’s the fool?
Property Gold is a monthly column written by independent bespoke property consultant, Alex Goldstein. With more than 17 years’ experience, Alex helps his clients to buy and sell residential property in some of the most desirable locations in Yorkshire and beyond. In this month’s column, Alex takes a look at where things have gone wrong to leave the UK with so many empty homes.
There are 648,114 empty homes – let that sink in for a moment.
That is the number the government published in its report from October last year, on the number of uninhabited homes in the UK. Of this, 225,845 were classed as long-term vacant (empty for longer than six months).
The numbers speak for themselves. However, despite this, why are we continuing to build these mass-volume new-build developments? Why do governments and the media continually report that we aren’t building enough houses to meet demand and there is a housing crisis? Why are youngsters struggling to get on the housing ladder?
If you want my opinion, it all boils down to money, plus governments and councils meddling in a world they just don’t understand, nor are qualified to deal with. Their actions over the past 20+ years have had far-reaching implications for us all and we are now on the brink of yet another scandal to hit the new-build property sector and national economy. Like the tragic events at Grenfell Tower just over four years ago and the subsequent cladding scandal, there doesn’t seem to be any end in sight for ridding ourselves of this greenfield-sucking parasite.
As an example, Harrogate Borough Council didn’t have a Local Plan in place for several years. This resulted in the big PLC developers having an absolute field day, with limited barriers to their proposals. However, these key players can walk away at any point, with limited accountability for the hand they have had in altering the face of the district and UK forever.
Overloaded schools, GP surgeries, roads and infrastructure are problems we all now have to endure, through no fault of our own. In Harrogate district in the same 2020 count, there were 2,208 empty properties. Yet sizeable new-build schemes dotted throughout the area are still going ahead, with more still to come.
Every new-build home sold adds more financial fuel to the fire, and we will simply continue going around in circles until all our green space is gone – and then what?
We are already seeing that empty homes bring about ghost blocks and areas, attracting crime, hitting local house prices and the economy. My concern is that a housing bubble is being created once more. The powers running the country have opened a Pandora’s Box and I don’t believe they know how to close the lid.
So who are the fools in all of this? The government, councils, PLC developers, the new home buyers, or us for not taking a stand when it was needed?
If you have any comments or questions for Alex, please feel free to contact him on alex@alexgoldstein.co.uk
Plans for 77 homes on former Trelleborg factory site in KnaresboroughPlans have been lodged for 77 new homes in Knaresborough on a former factory site.
Developer Countryside Properties has earmarked the former Trelleborg factory on Halfpenny Lane in the town for the houses.
The site is not allocated for housing in Harrogate Borough Council’s Local Plan, but it is included on the council’s Brownfield Land Register, which identifies locations that are considered to be appropriate for redevelopment for residential use.
As part of the proposal, the development would include a mixture of one, two and three-bedroom homes.
Planning documents submitted to Harrogate Borough Council show that 30 per cent of the 77 homes would be allocated as affordable housing.
The developer said in its planning statement:
“The development at Halfpenny Lane will provide an attractive, high quality designed environment to live. The scale and character of the proposals will ensure that the scheme will contribute to and enhance the immediate and surrounding area.”
Harrogate Borough Council will make a decision on the plan at a later date.