People waiting for a home to call their own will benefit as East Riding of Yorkshire Council and the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) work together to make more properties available.
The council is hoping to buy up to ten properties on the market throughout the East Riding, which will be renovated and added to the council’s housing stock.
The properties will make 2011 a special year for families who are offered somewhere to live. Six of the properties have already been acquired by the council.
The move to bring even more housing stock to those on the housing waiting list in the East Riding comes as the council and the HCA work on a project to build 331 new homes to be added to social housing stock in the area.
Councillor Jane Evison, portfolio holder for cultural services, housing and public protection at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: “We are so pleased to be working with the HCA on another project which will make a real difference to families living in the East Riding.
“This council has already shown its commitment to providing more high quality housing stock for residents throughout the area by working with local contractors and the HCA to build hundreds of homes which will benefit East Riding residents.
“Buying these older properties is another way that we can help people waiting for a home, by putting houses for sale in the area to good use.
“I look forward to seeing these properties refurbished and becoming homes for families in the near future.”
The total cost of the properties being looked at is just over £1m and the HCA will contribute nearly half of this amount.
Jayne Bishop and her family will be moving into their new home in Denison Road, Pocklington in the next few weeks. The three bedroom house was bought as part of the programme.
She said: “Due to unforeseen circumstances both my children and I faced the possibility of being homeless which caused an enormous amount of upset and pressure within our family home.
“I was overwhelmed with the care and support the council’s housing department gave us. We are now looking very much forward to moving into our new home and very pleased that it’s within the same community.
“We are extremely grateful to the council for making it possible for us to remain within the same area avoiding any disruption with schools and work. It makes me very proud to be part of the East Riding community.”
Lisa Jones, areas manager at the Homes and Communities Agency, said:
“It is fantastic news that we have been able to provide East Riding with 50 per cent of the funds needed to help them meet their ambition and we are thrilled that the Bishop family have been able to start 2011 by moving into a new home.
“By helping the council buy individual empty houses across the district we can ensure that the different housing needs of all local people are met.”
Properties in Beverley, Goole, Holme upon Spalding Moor, Pocklington, and Woodmansey are part of the council’s shopping list as part of the project with a view to providing them to families from mid March. Work is now starting to make sure the properties are up-to-standard in time for the first families to move in.
The council’s share of the funding will come from ring-fenced commuted sums that are designed to ensure that affordable housing is widely available.
This is money paid by developers as a part of the planning process where they have built developments within the East Riding without an element of affordable housing.
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