Over £80k for affordable housing roles approved by Harrogate council

Harrogate Borough Council will dip into the Community Housing Fund (CHF) to finance the roles of empty housing officer and rural housing enabler for a full-time period of 21 months.

Money for the roles will come from the £585,832 CHF which council received in early 2017 from the government in order to increase support of community groups looking to develop and purchase affordable homes.

Of the pot, £17.6k has already been allocated and used for a central North Yorkshire and East Riding Hub.

The vote means that the empty homes officer post, which is currently vacant and was originally established as a part-time job with 18.5 hours a week, will be bumped up to a full time role.

Funding the position for 21 months will cost a total of £62,480, with a successful applicant for the role set to earn £35,700 a year.

Council will also contribute 11.5 hours worth of pay a week towards the position of rural housing enabler, at a cost of £20,040 over the next 21 months.

The rural housing enabler is also employed by Hambleton council, with the employee to be shared across the districts.

Cabinet Member for Housing and Safer Communities, Councillor Mike Chambers, signed off on extending the hours of the empty housing officer and rural housing enabler at a meeting on Tuesday, October 23.

Community groups taking the lead on developing affordable homes took a significant step forward earlier in October, when Knaresborough Community Land Trust purchased their first piece of property from HBC.