Affordable housing will be on the agenda at a Harrogate Borough Council (HBC) meeting next week, as two sites in Ripon and Knaresborough are recommended for redevelopment.
The sites, both rows of lock-up garages, are currently owned by HBC, but a report due to be discussed next Tuesday said they are underused.
According to the report by the cabinet member for housing and safer communities, they could provide much-needed revenue for the council as well as helping to address the shortage of low-cost accommodation in the district.
The council is recommending that one of the sites, at Park Row in Knaresborough, is sold to Newcastle-based developer Karbon at market value to provide two affordable homes in partnership with Knaresborough Community Land Trust (KCLT). Currently consisting of seven brick-built garages, six of them empty, it has planning permission for two one-bed bungalows.
The report says the disposal of the Knaresborough site “will deliver two affordable homes at nil cost to the council and in the short to medium term”.
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HBC is recommending that the Ripon site, a row of brick-built garages between North Road and Bridge View Road, be offered for sale at market value for residential development.
There is existing planning permission for conversion of the garages to create a three-bed bungalow, but this cannot be implemented as the existing foundations have been deemed unsuitable for the change of use. The underlying geology is high in gypsum, a highly soluble rock prone to forming sinkholes, and ground investigation works will be needed to ensure the site can support a brand-new building.
The garages on North Road in Ripon
The council intends to prioritise the sale of the North Road site to one of its registered providers, but if none shows any interest, it may sell the site for self-build.
Two alternative options for both sites – developing the homes in-house or retaining the properties in their existing form as under-used garage sites – will be recommended for rejection at the housing meeting.
The report said “disposal of both sites is considered the best way to meet the council’s wider objectives for housing provision” and noted “it is important that sales be progressed swiftly before the market slows”.