Press Release

Rural Housing Week to be Celebrated in North Yorkshire

Press Release by North Yorkshire Strategic Housing Partnership.

A programme which has seen over 120 affordable homes built in rural North Yorkshire in the last 12 months will be celebrated across the county next month.

Rural Housing Week will bring together local authorities, parish councils, community groups and housing providers for five days of events from October 1.

The North Yorkshire Strategic Housing Partnership is hosting this special week to highlight an initiative which has seen 126 new affordable homes created in the county’s rural areas in the last 12 months.  Another 100 homes are scheduled for completion this year.

The week – which will be addressed by leading planners and housing experts, including the Chartered Institute of Housing, National Housing Federation, Communities and Local Government and the University of York – will also see workshops, visits to completed schemes and official openings.  Housing organisations and providers, government agencies, parish councils, landowners, councillors and communities across the county are being invited to look at schemes, share ideas and help raise awareness of issued faced by rural communities.

“We want to highlight North Yorkshire as an exemplar deliverer of rural affordable homes,” said Councillor Richard Foster, Chair of the Local Government North Yorkshire and York Housing Board. 
 “This week will celebrate the great work that is being done across the county as well as broach important issues being faced on a daily basis.

“By listening to ideas from other agencies, communities and organisations we can become more innovative and help more rural communities meet their affordable housing needs.”

The week starts with a conference in Skipton headed by Lord Best; sees the opening of the Richmond YMCA and a development of homes in Swainby on the site of an old garage; takes in visits to affordable home developments in Ryedale, Harrogate, Selby, Bainbridge and Osmotherley; and hosts workshops exploring a host of issues including rural homes for older people and myths around affordable housing.

NB TO NEWDESKS

Below are details specific to each area – if you want further details on any of them, including quotes from local councillors please contact the relevant press officer for the area:

Hambleton and Richmondshire: Aly Thompson (communications manager) on 01609 767063;
Harrogate: Lynne Mee (Communications and Media Manager) on 01423 556022;
Craven: Sharon Hudson on 01756 706246:
Ryedale: Jill Baldwin on 01653 600666:
Scarborough: Gabrielle Jandzio on 01723 232306:
Selby: Mike James on 01757 705101 or communications@selby.gov.uk

HAMBLETON AND RICHMONDSHIRE

Hambleton and Richmondshire District Councils are working with their partner housing associations on a series of events – starting on October 2 in Richmond when the new YMCA will be officially opened. The Market Place facility – provided by Broadacres – provides independent living accommodation to help young people make the transition from home to independent living.

The following day - Wednesday October 3 – officers move along the dale to Bainbridge to discuss with National Park Planning Officers and members of the North Yorkshire County Council Extra Care Team the need to cater for the needs of older generations in rural areas, including a visit to Housing 21’s popular Sycamore Hall scheme.

Endeavour Housing Association will officially open the six affordable houses for rent on Black Horse Lane in Swainby.on October 4.  The scheme, facilitated by Hambleton District Council, which purchased the site from its owner and sold it on to Endeavour, has helped address the identified need for local people. It will be opened by Lord Crathorne.
And the week will be rounded off by a visit into the North York Moors where the Broadacres Housing Association scheme for 12 affordable units in Osmotherley is being developed. The winners of a competition with local schoolchildren to name the scheme will be announced by Lord Crathorne.

For further information call Amanda Madden on 01609 767048 or 01748 828755.

HARROGATE

Harrogate Borough Council and Home Housing, one of its partner Housing Associations, are hosting an event at Hampsthwaite Memorial Hall on October 4.  ‘Mission Impossible --- the truth about the delivery of rural affordable housing’, which kicks off at 10am, aims to dispel some of the myths about rural affordable housing and provide the opportunity for parish councils and community organisations to find out more about what’s involved in delivering new affordable homes in villages.  It will include a walking tour to see at first hand new homes in Hampsthwaite - the scheme of 11 homes, providing seven rented houses and four shared ownership homes, provides 100 per cent affordable housing only available to people with a local connection to the parish of Hampsthwaite. 

The District Council has also provided affordable homes at: Wilstrop Lodge Farm, Moor Monkton - two new bungalows; Ebor View, Green Hammerton – two, two bedroom homes; and Ripley Road, Scotton – two, two bedroom homes.

For further advice and to book a place on the event at Hampsthwaite: rosemary.kidd@harrogate.gov.uk

CRAVEN

Craven will host the week’s launch event on Monday October 1. – ‘Making it Happen’ is a day conference for housing and planning professionals from a wide range of organisations and will be opened by Lord Richard Best OBE, President of the Local Government Association and Past Chief Executive of the National Federation of Housing Associations. Speakers include Rob Warm from the National Housing Federation, Mark Bevan from the Centre for Housing Policy at the University of York, Sarah Davies from the Chartered Institute of Housing and Mathew Dodd from the Homes and Communities Agency.

In partnership with the Yorkshire Dales National Park, Craven District Council will host an event for landowners in the National Park on October 2. Presenters will include Peter Stockton, Head of Sustainable Development for the National Park and Fraser Neasham, Development Manager for Yorkshire Housing.

To book a place contact Sarah Hall at shall@cravendc.gov.uk

RYEDALE

Ryedale District Council - in conjunction with North York Moors National Park and partner Housing Associations, Yorkshire Housing, Broadacres and Sanctuary - is hosting a myth busting event at the NYM National Park Authority headquarters in Helmsley on Wednesday October 3. The event will showcase some of the excellent rural affordable housing schemes that have been developed in recent years in the district. The event will include a tour of affordable housing schemes in Helmsley, Nawton, Pickering and Thornton Dale and focus on the important role that local Parish Councils and other organisations have had promoting and developing affordable housing.

The District Council completed 95 new affordable homes in 2011/12 which included two rural exception sites at Sherburn and Thornton-le-Dale providing local families in housing need with a new high quality affordable home, enabling them to stay within their own community and help to sustain that community.

For more information contact: colin.huby@ryedale.gov.uk

SCARBOROUGH

Scarborough Borough Council - in conjunction with North York Moors National Park and partner Housing Associations, Broadacres and Sanctuary - is hosting a myth busting event at Lythe Village Hall on Thursday October 4. The event will showcase some of the excellent rural affordable housing schemes that have been developed in recent years in the borough. There will be a range of speakers talking more about the challenges and issues associated with developing rural affordable schemes as well as a tour of affordable housing schemes in Lythe, Glaisdale and Hinderwell. The event will also focus on the important role that local Parish Councils and other organisations have had promoting and developing affordable housing, and will highlight the benefits that new affordable housing has brought to local communities.

Over the last four years, 49 new affordable homes have been developed across seven parishes within the Borough.

For more information contact: colin.huby@scarborough.gov.uk

SELBY

On Wednesday October 3, there will be a visit to a new ten unit housing scheme in Appleton Roebuck hosted by Broadacres Housing Association. This will be followed by a workshop to explore the issues around delivering rural affordable housing for officers, elected members and Parish Councillors, jointly hosted by Selby District Council and Chevin Housing Association.

To book a place contact: mdinsdale@selby.gov.uk

September 20, 2012

Press Officer: Aly Thompson
Phone:           01609 767063
Email:            aly.thompson@hambleton.gov.uk