The latest affordable housing scheme in North Yorkshire has moved a step closer as work gets underway to prepare the site of a former care home for redevelopment.
We are progressing plans to transform the former Neville House care home in Gargrave, near Skipton, which closed in 2023, into 16 affordable homes to meet local housing needs.
The move forms part of the authority’s wider commitment to deliver 500 new council homes by 2029 through its Housing Revenue Account, helping to meet demand for affordable housing and enabling people to live in the communities they want to.
Preparatory work is starting this week at the former care home site on Neville Crescent ahead of the building’s demolition, which is scheduled for early next year. Both the preparatory works and demolition are being managed by NY Highways.
This phase will include establishing a secure working area and removing asbestos from the buildings. It is expected to be completed before the end of the year.
Once the site has been cleared, subject to planning permission, it would be redeveloped to include a mix of one, two and three-bedroom flats, houses and bungalows to meet local housing needs.
The homes would be available through a combination of social rent and shared ownership options, helping local residents access suitable housing while remaining in their communities.
Executive member for housing, Cllr Simon Myers, said: “Providing more affordable housing is one of our biggest challenges and schemes such as this represent an important step in delivering the homes people need.
“With more than 7,200 people on housing waiting lists across North Yorkshire, increasing the supply of genuinely affordable homes remains a priority to ensure local people and families can access housing in the communities where they want to live.
“We are taking a range of approaches to achieve this, including working with housing providers through the York and North Yorkshire Strategic Housing Partnership, and a joint delivery programme with a nationally renowned housing developer to help accelerate the construction of homes on council-owned sites.
“We are also the only council in the country to use funding generated through the second homes council tax premium exclusively for housing projects such as delivering more affordable homes.
“The redevelopment of the former Neville House site is an example of the progress we are making, as we look to transform a redundant building into a modern, high-quality development that we hope will provide much-needed homes for social rent and deliver genuinely affordable housing for local residents.”
The proposed scheme is being supported by funding from the council's Housing Revenue Account and York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority's Brownfield Housing Fund, with additional external funding opportunities also being explored to support delivery.
This project is one of a number of ways the council is working to deliver more affordable homes across North Yorkshire.
Last month, construction started on the first affordable homes to be funded through the authority's council tax premium on second homes. The authority is supporting Broadacres Housing Association to build 26 affordable homes across two sites in Hunmanby, near Filey, and Shipton by Beningbrough, near York.