Council and hospital in talks over city's housing shortage

DERELICT properties owned by York Hospital could be leased to the City Council to address critical shortages in affordable housing.

York's property market has weathered the recession better than many other towns and cities, but average house prices still remain out of reach for many.

Now, talks are underway between York Council and the city's hospital trust to address this problem.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Redundant flats off Union Terrace are expected to be redeveloped – with one option being to demolish them so the site can be re-used.

However, 15 of the existing properties could be taken over by the Council to boost its current housing stock in the short-term through a lease agreement with the hospital.

The housing spokeswoman for the Council's Labour group, Councillor Tracey Simpson-Laing, has welcomed the move to redevelop the site, but she maintained that a scheme should have been drawn up earlier.

She said: "It has been suggested that the hospital trust could apply for planning permission to remove the flats within around two years, which assuming it agrees to the proposal, seems a very long time.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"It would be a real shame not to see the flats replaced with public or private sector housing, but that is matter for the trust in terms of the site's future use."

Coun Simpson-Laing added: "I really do hope that the Council can use the houses on the site to make some small contribution to shortening the local waiting list, given the shortage of affordable housing in the city."

Senior hospital officials have confirmed that plans are being drawn up to redevelop the site and talks are underway with York Council to look into using the properties to counter shortages in affordable housing.

The associate director of estates and facilities for York Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Brain Golding, said: "The Trust is putting together a plan for the whole site, which will take two to three years to come to fruition, and will be a phased development.

"In the meantime, we are exploring the possibility of York Council using a number of the houses on a short-term basis. These discussions are at an early stage and plans are yet to be agreed."