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Affordable Housing in Whitby
At its meeting on 14
October Scarborough Borough Council’s Cabinet agreed to release
land at four sites in Whitby to registered social landlords to
allow the development of up to 120 new affordable homes.
The sites are:
Land at Byland Road, where
five homes will be built by Home Housing
Land at Larpool Lane where
15 homes will be built by Sanctuary Housing Association
Land at Helredale Road and
St Peters Road where around 100 new homes will be built by
Yorkshire Coast Homes.
This includes proposals to
demolish Yorkshire Coast Homes’ 24 flats at St Peters Road and the
provision of new homes on the site.
The provision of these homes
will represent the most significant development of affordable
housing in Whitby for over 25 years.
The Cabinet also made
commitments to make funding available to improve remaining open
spaces in order to compensate for the areas that will be lost
through the proposed developments.
Cllr Jane Mortimer, the
council’s Cabinet Member for Property, Housing and Public Health
said:
“This decision is good news
for those families in Whitby who are either living with their
extended families, or in poor quality accommodation, and who want a
good quality, affordable home of their own.”
The housing situation in and
around Whitby has been described as having reached a crisis
point. There are currently over 300 households in Whitby who
have applications for affordable housing on the council’s housing
register, and a housing needs survey undertaken during 2006
identified a need for 87 new affordable homes per year during 2007
to 2011. In his report to Cabinet, Andy Skelton, the
council’s Head of Environmental Services, reported that the
situation is so difficult that, ‘the council is struggling to meet
its statutory duties to the homeless in Whitby’.
Cllr Mortimer also explained
that the decision would lead to significant investment being made
in public open spaces in the town and added:
“The council will work
closely with the community to ensure that the facilities that are
provided meet the needs of local residents.”