Plans for Harrogate housing

A NORTHERN Jewish housing association has been given almost £15,000 to kick-start projects in the Yorkshire spa town of Harrogate.

The Leeds Jewish Housing Association was awarded the grant by Harrogate Borough Council to lay the groundwork for a Community Land Trust (CLT) to build in the town.

CLTs are extra-governmental bodies, made up of private individuals, who act as long-term stewards of affordable housing.

LJHA chief executive Mark Grandfield told the JC that it would conduct a research project into the viability of future developments.

Census data from 2011 suggested 334 Jews then living in Harrogate, around 0.2 per cent of the town’s population. However, Harrogate Synagogue, which celebrated its centenary last year, is reporting a growth in membership.

Mr Grandfield said the association was looking to develop a relationship with what he described as the “sporadic Jewish community in Harrogate.

“We told the council it might be of interest to us.

“But we don’t really know Harrogate’s development potential — and we don’t know, legally, what a CLT is. If we were to research all that — and we’re a small organisation — it could cost us £10,000 or £20,000. We are lending our expertise. It might come off, it might not.”

Harrogate Borough Council said the £14,950 grant would fund a “temporary, dedicated post and ancillary costs”, with the “ambition” to create five affordable homes within 18 months of the establishment of a CLT.

LJHA will be involved in discussions with community leaders, public consultations and focus groups, before a “stage two grant application”.

Any developments in Harrogate would be built through a CLT, rather than the LJHA.

The association reports that Jews account for 84.5 per cent of its Leeds clients.