Affordable homes partnership given council go-ahead

Approval for a major new housing project aimed at increasing the provision of affordable homes in the borough has been given approval by the council following a lengthy bidding process.

Scarborough Council’s cabinet has voted unanimously to approve a largescale housing project that will see the authority work with a private developer.

The Better Homes Joint Venture will seek to tackle the “affordable homes crisis” facing the borough with estimates stating it will cost the authority £100,000 a year.

Approval of the plan means the council can proceedwiththedisposalofeight council sites that have been ringfencedfortheprojectand can enter into contracts and legal agreements.

The eight sites are on Clarence Drive in Filey, Musham Bank in Eastfield, Sandybed CrescentandPollardGardens in Scarborough, Moor Lane in Newby, as well as California Road, Rievaulx Road, and Sandsend Road in Whitby.

The 50:50 partnership between Scarborough Council and Lovell Partnerships Ltd – a subsidiary of the Morgan Sindall Group – has set out to build “more than 700 new homes over an initial 10-year period”, as part of a 30-year partnership.

At a meeting of the authority’s executive committee on Tuesday, November 15, councillors agreed to form a new developer as a “vehicle” for the joint partnership.

It draws to a conclusion a bidding process that started in 2021 when the authority invited potential partners to take part in a joint venture to provide “more affordable, sustainable and higher quality homes in the borough”.

Concerns have been raised about the time scale of developments as well as whether the project will get the green light from North Yorkshire County Council which still has to approve the plans.

Cllr Liz Colling said: “Because it’s complicated, not just what we are doing which is innovative, other councils have done something similar, but all the other districts have slightly different models.

“Some of them own their own council houses, they are stock holding, but what we are saying is we don’t have a solution, we’re not telling everyone you have to do this.

"We are saying this is one part of it because even through planning, you do still get some social and affordable housing.”