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.”
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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 NidderdaleHopes 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.
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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.