The Home Office Archives - The Stray Ferret

A Nidderdale home at last for refugee family

After a number of frustrating hold-ups, Nidderdale Community Welcome (NCW) has finally found a house for a refugee family from Syria.

The group, founded in late 2020, has raised more than £13,000 to fund the initiative and had originally hoped to bring a family here before Christmas.

But the house they had in prospect did not materialise.

Now there is positive news and NCW chair, Peter Wright, told the Stray Ferret:

“A local landlord has kindly agreed the rental of a three-bedroom property in Pateley Bridge for a minimum period of two years.”

With this key element of the resettlement support programme in place, NCW has submitted its application to the Home Office, uprating from ‘approval in principle’ to ‘final approval.’

Peter Wright of Nidderdale Community Welcome, anticipates that a refugee family from Syria will be arriving in Pateley Bridge this summer

Mr Wright, pointed out:

“It is anticipated it will be granted shortly, with a view to a family being welcomed into the Dale in early summer.”

He added:

“We have decided to stay with our original intentions of welcoming a Syrian family, many from Syria are still in camps in the Middle East whilst the conflict in their country continues.

“We have every sympathy with those from other countries displaced by war, Afghanistan and Ukraine who we hold in our thoughts and prayers, we believe the support we can offer best suits a vulnerable family from Syria.

“NCW will assist the family to sign up for all the allowances they will be eligible for as part of our national response and commitment to those displaced by conflict.

“Refugees are keen to be a valuable part of the community they move into, and to integrate as soon as they are able, but many also wish to be able to return home as soon as conditions allow.”

NCW is working in conjunction with Ripon City of Sanctuary and Harrogate District of Sanctuary, who will be helping the family learn English so they can become self-sufficient and participate in daily life. Courses will be run both locally and in nearby towns.

People from around the dale and further afield have already provided funding, resources, and their time and skills towards making the NCW project a success.

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Refugee support group in urgent search for a Nidderdale home

Nidderdale Community Welcome is urgently seeking a house to rent in or close to Pateley Bridge to home a refugee family.

The community group has already raised more than £12,000 to help a refugee family from Syria or Afghanistan, to start a new life in the UK.

Peter Wright, NCW’s housing lead, told the Stray Ferret:

“We need a two, three or four-bedroom property with a garden, on a bus route in Nidderdale, ideally near Pateley Bridge.

“The property needs to be available to the family for a minimum of two years, but the arrangement could easily extend for much longer.

“This offers certainty for landlords and avoids the cost and disruption of changing tenants regularly.”

Nidderdale Community Welcome is taking part in a scheme originally set-up by former Prime Minister David Cameron to welcome 20,000 Syrian refugees to the UK.

Following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in the summer, an increased number of refugees from that country have also been offered the opportunity to come to the UK.

The Home Office and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees will choose a family based on the number of bedrooms in the house that is secured for rental by NCW.

As part of their resettlement package, the family is entitled to housing benefit and can pay monthly rental ranging from £663 for a two-bedroom house to £1,067 for a four-bedroom property.

Mr Wright said:

“We can provide the bond and one month’s rent in advance, if required. If we find the right home before the family arrives and is able to move in, we could potentially provide a short period of 100% rental bridging to hold the property for them.

“Our charity will provide long-term support for the family and will act as the first point of contact between them and the landlord, to ensure that all communications are well-managed.”

Landlords able to help NCW in its search for a rental property, are asked to contact Mr Wright, via email on wrightpandh@gmail.com

Bid to resettle refugees in Nidderdale takes major step forward

Attempts to resettle a refugee family in the Pateley Bridge area have taken a significant step forward.

Nidderdale Community Welcome, a community group set up to sponsor a refugee family in Nidderdale, has found a house and raised more than £12,000.

Peter Wright, who heads the organisation, said:

“We can expect a refugee family to be selected by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and for the family to be with us in about four months time.”

With funding and housing in place, the application to bring the family to the Dales now needs Home Office approval, which should be a formality.

In preparation for the resettlement, Nidderdale Community Welcome is to hold a meeting at Pateley Bridge Methodist Church between 7pm and 9pm on Tuesday next week. For further details email wrightpandh@gmail.com

The search for a house in the Pateley Bridge area for a refugee family has been successful.

Mr Wright said:

“We are now moving from the planning to the implementation stage and need to put together small teams to assist the family with benefits, schooling, language, etc.

“The meeting will allow people to hear what is involved and to help us by signing on to one or more of the teams.”

The steering group is also looking at the possibility of establishing a community investment scheme to purchase a house for the longer term of this project.

People able to invest between £5,000 and £40,000 in a fixed-term scheme with an anticipated return of two percent per annum would have a proportionate share in the capital of the house.

John Tarrant, treasurer of Nidderdale Community Welcome, can be contacted at johntarrant@leakhb.plus.com for further information.

Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, the refugee focus has switched from those displaced by war in Syria to Afghan nationals fleeing their country.

While Nidderdale Community Welcome, which was set up in November, plans for its first refugee family, Ripon City of Sanctuary has already resettled a number of Syrian families and is ready for another.

The group, established in 2016, has been fundraising since April, in anticipation of bringing another Syrian family to the city.

It has raised 85 per cent of the money needed and a has identified a suitable house.

Nicola David, chair of the Ripon group, said:

“We have been trying to build a little Syrian community here.

“Some Afghan interpreter families are currently being assisted to resettle in the UK, and a very small number have arrived in the Harrogate district.”

Ripon and Nidderdale are ready to support Afghan refugees

Ripon City of Sanctuary and Nidderdale Community Welcome (NCW) have called on the government to ‘open doors wider’ to people fleeing Afghanistan.

The refugee resettlement groups welcome news that the UK is committed to resettle up to 20,000 men, women and children.

However, they want to ensure that the selection criteria is not limited exclusively to those associated with Western organisations – including the military and diplomatic missions.

The groups believe the programme should also be open to women and ethnic minorities who have already been targeted by the Taliban.

They are also concerned about the possible impact on the current resettlement programme for refugees from war-torn Syria, that has been in place since 2016.

The tranquility of Nidderdale – a far cry from the troubles that the Afghan people are facing

Nicola David, chair of Ripon City of Sanctuary, told the Stray Ferret:

“We are concerned that the government’s new Afghan programme will probably slam the doors on further Syrian resettlement.”

Ripon City of Sanctuary, has been fundraising since April, anticipating that it would be bringing another Syrian family to the city.

It has raised 85 per cent of the money needed and a has a house in prospective.

Ms. David, pointed out:

“We have been trying to build a little Syrian community here.”

Afghan interpreter families are already being supported locally, as part of the government’s Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP)

Ms. David, added:

“Some Afghan interpreter families are currently being assisted to resettle in the UK, and a very small number arrived in the Harrogate district last week.”

In June, the Stray Ferret reported that Harrogate Borough Council was set to provide homes for four of the families.

In 2015, former prime minister David Cameron announced the programme for Re-settlement of Syrian refugees in the UK.

With homes already found for some in the Harrogate and Ripon areas, NCW hopes to provide similar support for a family in the Dales by Christmas.

Peter Wright, who heads the Nidderdale group, said:

“The first refugees from Afghanistan are starting to arrive in the area. Maybe we will get a family in Nidderdale, we don’t know at this point, but we should all do as much as possible to support those fleeing for their lives.”

Investment plan considered to support housing refugees in Nidderdale

Nidderdale Community Welcome (NCW), is exploring an investment option, as it looks to support a refugee family’s re-settlement in the Pateley Bridge area.

The scarcity of suitably-located two and three-bedroom homes available for rental in Nidderdale, has prompted the move.

NCW’s treasurer, John Tarrant, told the Stray Ferret:

“Finding a home is fundamental and here is an opportunity for an ethical investment that will help a family currently in a refugee camp in the Middle East in appalling circumstances, who may have lost everything.”

Mr Tarrant pointed out:

“Before we do further planning we need to know whether we can find enough potential investors to finance a house purchase.

“They will not be making a donation to to NCW, but providing the means of purchasing a property outright.”

As well as receiving a 2% annual return on their investment, after five years the investors will have the option of selling the property and having monies returned to them.

The investment scheme is separate from the almost £11,000 that has already been raised through donations and pledges.

That money will be used to ensure that the family is established in their new Nidderdale home with part of it used for rental costs.

Before refugee families can come to the this country, where they will have the same rights as UK citizens, they have to go through a detailed vetting process.

The popularity of Pateley Bridge and Nidderdale as a place to live, means the demand for rental properties outstrips supply

The community support group also has to receive approvals from the Home Office and the local authorities.

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees selects a family suitable for the size of house that the community group is able to find.

As the search for a rental property is proving difficult, the investment route may provide a better short and longer-term option.

Mr Tarrant, said:

“Full details have not yet been finalised but there are several such community investment schemes helping refugee families throughout the country and we will be using a well-tried model.”

One such scheme was successfully launched in the Cambridgeshire town of Godmanchester, where a community welcome group raised £300,000 to buy a house for the family that has re-settled in their area.

NCW is looking to raise a similar amount from up to 20 investors who may wish to invest anything from £5,000 to £45,000.

Mr Tarrant is in liaison with the charity Hope into Action, which has experience of working with community groups within the Community Sponsorship Scheme.

Anybody wanting to know more about the NCW investment scheme is asked to contact: johntarrant@leakhb.plus.com

House and treasure hunt to help refugee family in Nidderdale

Hopes are high that a refugee family will be safely relocated to Nidderdale by Christmas.

Nidderdale Community Welcome has, through donations and fundraising events, built up a fund of approximately £11,500.

Peter Wright, who is heading the initiative, told the Stray Ferret:

“This is a tremendous effort, when bearing in mind that a lot of our activities have been virtual because of the covid lockdowns.”

He added:

“It illustrates that the Nidderdale community is caring, compassionate and willing to help a family in desperate circumstances to re-build their lives here.”

Peter Wright and supporters of Nidderdale Community Welcome prepare to bring a refugee family to the dales

The aim is to hit an initial target of £13,000 to provide the financial support that the family will need.

Finding a three-bedroom house in or near Pateley Bridge is the top priority and the search is on for a landlord with a suitable property available to let by the end of the summer.

Mr Wright pointed out:

“If we can secure this, there is every chance that we can have a home ready for the family to move into before Christmas.

“It doesn’t have to be in perfect decorative order, because we have a team of volunteers ready to help out.”

With lockdown restrictions easing, Nidderdale Community Welcome has been able to organise ever-more ambitious fundraising events.

The latest one is a treasure hunt – called Le Mo-Tour for Refugees, involving a 60-mile tour of the local dales.

It runs between July 10 and August 20 and is open to anybody who wishes to take part in return for a £10 team donation.

Participants must register at nc-welome.org to receive a clue sheet for the hunt.

While the fundraising continues, the formal behind-the-scenes processes involved in progressing the community support programme is ongoing.

To be involved in the Home Office-backed scheme, Nidderdale Community Welcome has to prepare everything that will be needed to support the refugee family.

In obtaining refugee status families have to prove that they were forced to flee their country because of persecution, war or violence.

Attaining the status means they are entitled to the same help and welfare as anyone else living in the UK.

Nidderdale Community Welcome is working in partnership with the charity Catholic Care Leeds, which will take ultimate responsibility for the agreement that is being drawn up with the Home Office.