First new council housing in decades for town

The first new council homes are set to be built in Skipton for decades, councillors have agreed.

North Yorkshire Council is set to spend £84,000 buying 12 new houses that are part of a 53-home development on Airedale Avenue.

The properties will be allocated to families on the council's housing waiting list with priority given to those with a local connection to the market town, before being offered to those elsewhere in North Yorkshire.

The new housing is expected to be completed in phases between March 2026 and December 2026.

Council officials said there was a high level of housing need within the former Craven district, with almost 700 applicants on the register.

Of these, Skipton has the highest concentration of people on the waiting list, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The new housing has been welcomed by councillor Simon Myers, who said: "I would think they're the first new council homes in Skipton for 40 years.

"It's only a drop in the ocean compared to the hundreds on the register, but it does mean that 12 families get on the waiting list and into a new, good home."

As well as the 12 houses bought for rent by the council, four other homes will be acquired by Bracewell Homes, the authority's separate shared ownership housing company.

The council approved its housing revenue account 30-year business plan last year.

The document includes the delivery of 500 new council homes over the next five years to 2029.

The majority of the funding to buy the properties will come from the authority's housing revenue account, with around £39,000 coming from right-to-buy receipts.

The housing development has full planning approval and work is due to start on site in early 2026.

Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.