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Dec 2020

Last Updated: 07/12/2020

Environment

'We couldn't afford to buy a home in Knaresborough'

by Thomas Barrett

| 08 Dec, 2020

Married Knaresborough couple Steph Getao and Scott Gibson were forced to move to Leeds after spending three years looking in vain for their perfect property in Knaresborough and Harrogate. They fear high house prices are causing the area to lose young people and vibrancy.

In previous generations, getting on the housing ladder for a young couple with steady incomes was a given.

But in today's housing crisis, it's a pipe dream for too many people, particularly in high-value areas like Knaresborough and Harrogate.

Married Knaresborough couple Steph Getao, 32 and Scott Gibson 35, spent three years looking for their perfect property in Knaresborough and Harrogate — but failed to find one within their budget.

It forced them to look further afield and they recently purchased a two-bedroom house with a conservatory and garden in Allerton Bywater, a village south-east of Leeds.

At £175,000, Steph said the home was much cheaper than similar properties locally.

Scott works for an electrical manufacturer in Boroughbridge and Steph works in an office in Harrogate. Steph told the Stray Ferret it was "upsetting" that they couldn't buy a home closer to Scott's hometown.

She said:

"We both love it here. He has his childhood friends here. It was so depressing. It was either get what you can in Knaresborough or Harrogate or have a choice and look further afield."

According to property website Rightmove, the average property price in Knaresborough last year was £320,000

In new housing developments, Harrogate Borough Council demands that 40% of all homes are classed as "affordable".

The government defines affordable as homes sold at a discounted rate, homes for social rent, or through shared ownership schemes.

Steph dismissed shared ownership schemes as a "different face of renting" and questioned how "affordable" these homes really are.

"An affordable home was £200,000 plus. I don't understand what they mean by affordable. You can't put that amount of money down and call it affordable."

Plans to create affordable flats for key workers in Knaresborough

Housing Investigation: New homes out of reach for too many locals

Steph is a director of Knaresborough Community Land Trust, a not-for-profit organisation that is hoping to develop a disused area in the town centre into three flats as affordable housing.

Such initiatives provide small scale solutions. But for Knaresborough to flourish, Steph says the town needs young people to stay and put down roots.

She added:

"Without young people, Knaresborough will get more and more sleepy. The high street is basically all old dear shops! Knaresborough needs its young.

"Scott's parents and aunts all have houses locally, then you go to the next generation and we've all moved out of Knaresborough [due to house prices].

"You've got to do what's best for your pocket, so we went Allerton Bywater. I wish we had more local people being able to purchase within Knaresborough. If we had an influx of young people, we'd see a change in the high street immediately."

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'We couldn't afford to buy a home in Knaresborough'

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