Housing trust pays £50,000 for toilets
KNARESBOROUGH IS one step closer to receiving more affordable housing after a community group promising low-cost homes acquired its first parcel of land.
A cabinet meeting of Harrogate Borough Council saw councillors agree to sell a former toilet block at High Street, Knaresborough to the Knaresborough Community Land Trust, for £50,000. It is the first time the council has disposed of an asset to the community land trust, who formed six months ago with the aim of providing more affordable homes for people living and working in the region.
Ahead of discussion on the matter, Coun Phil Ireland declared a conflict of interest, given his position of mayor of the town council of Knaresborough, and vacated the chamber. Cabinet member for culture, tourism and sport, Coun Stanley Lumley, said the former toilet block would be a “test case” for the community group, which will develop it into affordable housing.
“It’ll be interesting to see how it pans out,” he said.
Council leader Richard Cooper said that the need for more affordable housing in the region was apparent, explaining that he wouldn’t, on his current salary, be able to afford the property he first bought in Harrogate in the late 1990s.
The approval was welcomed by the chair of the Knaresborough Community Land Trust, Emma Walsh, who said picking up the High Street parcel of land was an exciting moment for the group.