A £1.2m affordable housing scheme, designed to help local people get on the housing ladder in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, is nearing its final stages of development.
Broadacres Housing Association, in partnership with the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, North Yorkshire Council, and its local contractor Randall Orchard Construction, is putting the finishing touches to the five-home development, which will sit in the centre of the village of Bainbridge.
Set to be completed in the autumn, the scheme will provide homes via shared ownership to people with a connection to Bainbridge and the surrounding areas.
People may buy as little as a 10% share, depending on their circumstances, to secure their homes in the Yorkshire Dales, with the opportunity to increase this share up to a maximum of 80% if they wish.
By doing this, Broadacres says it ensures the homes will remain affordable for future generations.
The homes, which are being built at the back of the Grade 2 Listed Rose & Crown pub in Bainbridge, consist of two two-bed semi-detached properties and three three-bed terraced homes.
The total cost of the scheme is £1,227,753, which includes a grant of £300,000 from Homes England.
The partners involved in the visit undertook a site visit in June, ahead of Rural Housing Week, which runs this week (3-7 July).
‘Many hurdles overcome’
Helen Fielding, Broadacres’ director of Development and Investment, said: “The theme of this year’s Rural Housing Week is ‘building a better future for rural communities’, so it’s apt that we are now close to completing a scheme in an area where it is very difficult for local people to get a foot on the home-ownership ladder.
“Factors such as high house prices and increasing levels of second home ownership and holiday rentals make it difficult for those who grew up in rural communities like Bainbridge.
“So, by working with our local partners to provide affordable homes, we are helping to readdress the balance, here in the National Park and other rural parts of North Yorkshire.”
The Member Champion for Sustainable Development at the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, Cllr Richard Foster, said: “Many hurdles have been overcome to develop this site in Bainbridge, and it’s great to see the homes almost completed.
“Open market housing in this part of the National Park is unaffordable for most local people.
“That’s why these five new homes for shared ownership are so important.
“We know that shared ownership is a popular form of affordable housing across North Yorkshire as it allows households on relatively low incomes to buy a share in the house and increase that over time if they wish.”
He added: “There is a long-term need for affordable housing across the National Park to help sustain local communities and support the economy, so we look forward to more such schemes coming forward in the next few years.
“As the planning authority for the National Park, the National Park Authority is currently preparing a new Local Plan that will release more land for affordable housing for local people.”
North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for Culture, Leisure and Housing, Cllr Simon Myers, said: “There is a well-documented need for more affordable housing of good quality in the rural parts of the county, especially in the two national park areas and at the coast.
“This latest development goes towards filling that gap and allowing more people to remain in and contribute to their local community.”
Graeme Newton, managing director of Richmond-based Randall Orchard Construction, said: “Having built the homes opposite to this new development, we are delighted to have been asked by Broadacres to undertake this scheme.
“We are using reclaimed stone of a colour and texture to match the adjacent properties, ensuring they are very much in keeping within this beautiful village.”
This will be Broadacres second scheme in Bainbridge, having converted a former Victorian workhouse and adjoining land into 17 affordable homes in 2008.
It also completed work on another scheme in the National Park, providing 17 affordable homes in the village of West Witton in 2022.
It is currently building 49 homes on the western side of the National Park in Sedbergh.
Image: Sharon Graham, North Yorkshire Council’s housing strategy manager; Helen Fielding; Richard Foster; Amanda Madden, rural housing enabler; and Graeme Newton
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