North Yorkshire Council is set to consider plans to deliver 10 new affordable homes in Knaresborough.
The proposals would see the council acquire 10 newly-built properties in the town as part of its commitment to deliver 500 new council homes across North Yorkshire by 2029.
The move comes as demand for affordable housing remains high, with more than 500 households identifying Knaresborough and the surrounding villages as their preferred location through the North Yorkshire Home Choice scheme.
If approved, seven of the homes would be offered for social rent to families in housing need, including five four-bedroom properties and two three-bedroom homes.
The remaining three homes – one three-bedroom and two four-bedroom properties – would be made available through shared ownership, helping more local people onto the property ladder.
The plans will be considered by North Yorkshire Council's executive committee on Tuesday 4th August.
North Yorkshire Council's executive member for housing, Cllr Simon Myers, said:
"As one of the largest councils in England, one of the biggest challenges we face is a lack of affordable housing.
"Increasing the supply of affordable housing is one of our key priorities as we work to ensure more local people and families can access homes where they want to live.
"We have committed to delivering 500 new council homes by 2029 to help meet this demand, and acquisitions such as these help increase the supply of high-quality affordable housing while also supporting the creation of healthy and sustainable communities."
Cllr Myers added:
"We are taking a number of approaches to achieve this ambition, including investing funding generated through the second homes council tax premium and working closely with partner housing providers through the York and North Yorkshire Strategic Housing Partnership.
"We have also recently agreed a joint delivery programme with a nationally renowned housing developer to help accelerate the delivery of homes on council-owned sites.
"The proposals in Knaresborough, where housing is particularly expensive and delivering social rent homes can be challenging, represent another positive step forward in our commitment to provide more affordable homes across North Yorkshire, and they will be carefully considered by members of the executive next week."
The proposed acquisition would be funded through a combination of the council's Housing Revenue Account, Homes England grant funding and receipts generated from the sale of the shared ownership properties.
The plans form part of North Yorkshire Council's wider strategy to increase the supply of affordable housing, with a target of delivering 500 new council homes by 2029.
Earlier this month, the authority also approved a joint venture with housing developer Lovell Partnerships Ltd to accelerate the delivery of new homes, infrastructure and green spaces across the county.
The Government has set North Yorkshire Council a target of delivering more than 4,000 new homes each year.
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