Esh Construction to complete Hob Moor homes

Hob Stone development 20th June 2015Yorkshire Housing has appointed new contractors to complete homes at three developments which had been on hold due to contractor Southdale Homes going into administration.

 Esh Construction will take over work at Hob Stone which is located off Windsor Garth in York.

Work on the site is expected to recommenced later in July. Some of the properties are expected to be occupied before the end of the year.

18 months ago, the development met a lot of opposition when it was revealed that the Labour Council would almost double the number of houses to be built on the former school site.

Since then, progress has been very slow with growing concerns about the development’s impact on the neighbouring Hob Moor nature area as well as pressures on local transport systems

 

 

 

House prices up 6.5% in York last year

click to download and enlarge

click to download and enlarge

Figures released by the Office of National Statistics today revealed that average house prices in York were £194,000 in 2014

This compares to £179,995 in 2008 and £182,050 in 2013. In the intervening period house prices had dropped significantly (because of the recession).

During 2014 the average prices, by type of property, were:

  • Detached £277,000
  • Semi £194,000
  • Terraced £175,600
  • Flats £145,000

A full list of comparable prices can be downloaded by clicking here

Mystery surrounds Hob Moor development

The new development at the former Our Lady’s school site has been hit by the failure of its building contractor.

Hobstones building work

All the “for sale” units have been reserved and work is well advanced.

Media reports say that Southdale have gone into administration but the effect – if any – on the controversial Hob Moor development is unclear.

The developers – Yorkshire Housing – have not issued a statement nor has the York Council which claimed to have facilitated the development

There is no information on the Hobstones web site

Last November Southdale described the development as;

“Fourteen of the 55 homes at Hobstone will be for sale and the rest of the homes will available to rent at below market rates to families on average or low incomes.

Located on the site of the former Our Lady’s Primary school the houses look out onto Hob Moor. Built by Southdale and designed by award-winning architects Brewster Bye, the homes offer high quality energy, efficient accommodation with decent sized rooms and tasteful fittings”.

The for sale units proved to be popular with prices around £170,,000.

The development became controversial when the Labour Council almost doubled the number of units to be built on the former school site with local residents voicing concerns about “over-development” and fearing an adverse impact on Hob Moor and local traffic volumes.

Call for action on Council estate maintenance standards

Not surprisingly many tenants are bemused as rents continue to rise while maintenance standards on estates fall.

Fly tipping on Green Lane Acomb garage forecourt

Fly tipping on Green Lane (Acomb) garage forecourt today

Council tenants have faced a 28% increase in rent levels over the last 5 years.

The York Council is expected to have a £15 million surplus balance on its housing account at the end of this year.

Yet little has been invested in improvements and communal areas are too often targets for graffiti and dumping.

Weeks elapse before clean ups are arranged

York Council Housing rents and balances. Click to enlarge

York Council Housing rents and balances. Click to enlarge

Strangely the York Council housing  department is the only part of the local authority which has seen no cuts at all in funding during the last 4 years yet service standards are declining.

There is little evidence that the Labour Councillors who are responsible for Council housing ever routinely visit estates to ensure that service standards are acceptable.

Time for a change of approach we think!

Complaints about poor housing conditions in York increase to 318

…..but inspectors find only 14 hazards

Housing inspections - click to enlarge

Housing inspections – click to enlarge

Despite complaints about conditions in some privately rented homes in York increasing from 248 in 2012/13 to 318 in 2013/14, inspectors found fewer problems when they visited.

In the most recent year for which figures are available the number of “category 1″ hazards found were (previous year in brackets):

  • Damp and Mould – 2 (1)
  • Excess cold – 6 (17)
  • Overcrowding – 0 (0)
  • Falling hazards – 2 (9)
  • Fire – 4 (4)

Three improvement notices were issued by the Council along with 14 “hazard awareness notices”.

As well as 99 visits to privately rented accommodation, Inspectors visited 63 Houses in Multiple Occupation, 5 socially rented properties and 5 owner occupied homes.

The information was provided by the Council in response to a Freedom of Information request

Housing numbers still a guessing game… Green Belt threatened by Tory plans

Last minute policy flip tory

The final York Council meeting last week approved a Tory motion covering the vexed question of how much land should be reserved for house building over the next 20 years.

There have been many different house building predictions floated over the last four years.

The final decision of the Liberal Democrat led Council was to approve a Council Plan allocating space for 575 additional homes a year.  These would all have been built on sites which either already had planning permission or on “brownfield” previously developed sites. The Plan assumed that 10% of sites would be “windfalls” – sites like the former Press building which unexpectedly became available for residential development.

That Plan was later jettisoned by a new Labour administration that by 2012 had come up with a figure of between 1200 and 1400 homes per year. This was far beyond the natural growth of the City (homes for existing York residents) with 80% of the 40,000 new homes likely to be occupied by inward migrants.

Most of the homes were to have been built on Green Belt land.

Big City small

It led to a public outcry with residents launching an “Our City, not Big City” campaign.

Eventually in October 2014 the Labour Leadership was forced to resign and their Draft Local Plan numbers were abandoned.

However the new Council to be elected on May 7th will need to adopt a new Local Plan. With the latest  ONS figures painting a very different picture of housing need in the City, the Conservatives were right to say that much lower house building numbers were now justified.

However their web site paints a confused picture.

click to enlarge

click to enlarge

On it they talk about a need to build 830 additional homes per year. That amounts to 16,600 additional houses during the next 20 years, and means the City would expand in size by 21% by 2035. Over 50% of the new homes would be likely to be occupied by inward migrants.

It appears that some Councillors have misunderstood the latest ONS population projections.

The latest figures say that York would have a natural population growth of 19,000 people between 2014 and 2030. This generates a demand for 540 extra homes each year.  

Anything above that figure caters for (in many peoples view unsustainable) economic growth

So it looks like the Tories are now also planning a “Big City” growth plan. Inevitably this would mean building on large parts of the Green Belt.

NB Over 50% of new planning permissions are currently being given for “windfall sites” All are “brownfield”

On average, over the last three years, 382 new homes per year have been built in York

Council House sales to be banned in York?

The present York Council had its final meeting last week. Predictably there were some desperate attempts to remedy the omissions of the last 4 years.

Policy flip

Labour proposed that Council house sales in the City should be halted. They lurched back to a position which cost them the control of the York Council as long ago as 1973.

Since then both Conservative (Thatcher) and Labour (Blair/Brown) governments have supported Council house sales. The present coalition government – largely at the insistence of the Tories – extended the maximum discount available to  tenants to £70,000.
However, they also dealt with some long running issues which restricted a Councils ability to reinvest the money made from sales into new Council homes.

The York Council has made little use of the flexibility. It has accumulated a £15 million surplus on its housing account…and this despite the continued decline in investment in York’s Council estates.

The coalition government also now allows Councils to retain all the money that it takes in rents. The previous Labour government had creamed off any “surplus” and transferred it to subsidise tenants in other parts of the country.

Estate maintenance stadards falling in York

Estate maintenance stadards falling in York

The York Council now has much more flexibility than it used to have, although housing rent income may still only be used for “housing purposes”.  The income cannot, for example, be used to reduce Council Tax levels or raise public service standards like road repairs.

The supporters of the change to the housing sales rules say that it would address the widening gap between private sector rents and earnings in the City.

In fact until very recently, house prices – which influence rent levels – had been stable since 2008.

Given the relatively low level of sales (122 sold since 2011, out of a stock of over 8000) we doubt a sales freeze would make much difference anyway.

One the face of it, the level of discounts given to purchasers could be determined locally. After all, each local authority area has different characteristics. 

But there are too many Councils, including York, which are in the hands of hard line politicians who care little about the views of ordinary people. In 2011 we ended up with an uncompromising Labour administration who had gained the support of only 40% of the electorate.

In a separate debate the present Council refused to sanction a return to a committee system for making decisions. This traditional British system allowed all viewpoints to be aired before decisions were taken.

Until change of this sort is agreed, then it would be difficult for any democrat to argue that more decisions, of the type which affect people’s everyday lives, should be delegated if they are to be determined, behind closed doors, by dogmatic party puppets.

There is little chance that any government will suspend Council House sales. The York Council’s move was window-dressing.

But its failure to build only 37 new Council houses during the last 4 years, most definitely will be a factor that influences many residents voting intentions on 7th May

Only 107 new affordable homes completed in York last year

The York Council continues to perform poorly in the provision of affordable homes in York. It has steadfastly refused to buy on the open market despite having a £15 million balance on its housing account.

In total, 345 additional homes were provided in the City during 2013/14. During the first 6 months of 2014/15, 235 homes were provided.

Housing completions 2014

click to enlarge

York Council homes sold under “right to buy”? (New Council homes completed)

  • 2010/11 = 10 (0)
  • 2011/12 = 6 (0)
  • 2012/13 = 24 (19)
  • 2013/14 = 53 (0)
  • 2014/15 (up to 1/12/14) = 39 (18)

Number on housing waiting list.

  • 2010/11 = 3294
  • 2011/12 = 3972
  • 2012/13 = 4692
  • 2013/14 = 2306 (eligibility change)
  • As at 20/01/15 = 1462

Over 2000 planning applications for housing have been approved during the last 18 months, with the vast majority for “brownfield” (previously developed) land

Liberal Democrat housing policy can be read here

Lib Dems call for an extra £500,000 to be spent on York’s estate regeneration

Liberal Democrats are calling for an extra £500,000 to be spent improving the condition of housing estates in York.

Fly tipping little Green Lane garage area

Restoring pride in Council estate environment

The extra funding will be focused on tidying-up communal areas, repairs, improvements to car parking facilities, and a re-launched programme to replace draughty windows.

The move follows concerns from council tenants, falling satisfaction levels with many estate services, and missed performance targets by Labour run City of York Council.

The proposals are part of the Liberal Democrat budget amendment, which will be debated at today’s full Council meeting.

The Lib Dems are calling for an extra £3 million to be put into frontline services such as road repairs, community centres and green bin collections.

The Lib Dem housing move is funded from the council’s Housing Revenue Account (HRA) – a ring-fenced housing account which currently has a surplus of £15 million and is split from the main council budget. Rents are being increased by 2% from April.

Cllr Ann Reid, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Housing, commented:

Verge damage Bramham Road

Dealing with parking issues

“Residents have contacted us concerned about issues such as overgrown weeds, damaged fencing, broken streetlights, littering and dog fouling. Basic services have suffered since 2011 and show Labour’s continued neglect and under-investment in the city’s estates.
“We want to put an extra £500,000 in from the Housing Revenue Account to tackle these issues. This budget is raised from council rent and charges and is there to be used for tenants. There is a substantial surplus and instead of storing money away in reserves the council should be spending more on estate improvements.”

—————–

The Lib Dems would spend £250,000 ‘capital’ from the HRA on improvements to:

a) draughty windows and

b) improved car parking facilities (dropped kerbs/verge crossovers/matrix verge protection outside tenants homes and better car parking facilities in communal areas) and the resurfacing of some car parks.

plus £250,000 ‘revenue’ from the HRA on council house and estate regeneration including the following schemes: 

  • removal of weeds,
  • cutting back overgrown trees and hedges,
  • repairs to communal areas and signs (e.g. dog fouling, no ball games),
  • audit and repair of fencing.

The full Lib Dem amendment will be tabled and debated at Thursday’s Budget Council.

Last July, it was revealed that tenants were less satisfied with where they live and the estate services they receive from the council while key performance targets were missed: www.yorklibdems.org.uk/en/article/2014/0879798/york-tenants-less-satisfied-with-where-they-live-says-new-report

Universal Credit introduced in York

The Government’s Universal Credit scheme is being introduced in York by the Department for Works and Pensions (DWP) from today, 16 February 2015.

The scheme is being introduced incrementally. It will only affect single working-age job seekers making a new claim for benefits at the Job Centre and who will therefore be assessed for Universal Credit.

If they require support with their rent they will no longer claim Housing Benefit from the council, as the DWP will pay their housing costs as part of the single Universal Credit payment.

However, it is important that they still make a claim for Council Tax support from the council if they are the Council Tax bill payer.

Universal Credit is a single payment that is made one monthly in arrears direct to the job seeker. In some circumstances payment of rent can be made directly to landlords, but this will be exceptional.

Residents such as those living in a refuge or living in accommodation where they receive care, support or supervision, such as a hostel, will continue to receive Housing Benefit. The scheme does not affect pensioners who are in receipt of Housing Benefit.

The council is working in partnership with organisations including the Citizens Advice Bureau and Explore York Libraries and Archives Mutual Ltd to provide support to local residents claiming Universal Credit, and to those who have problems with their personal budgets or making a claim on-line.

The number to call for this help is 01904 551556.

From 16 February, single working age job seekers can claim Universal Credit on-line from the DWP at https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit