Demolition of ‘sub-standard’ housing moves closer

Hull Council will unveil proposed timescales for the demolition of about 300 houses on the Ings estate at St Marks church hall in Bellfield Avenue, from 2pm to 7pm on Thursday, and from 10am to 2pm on Saturday.

More than £10m, including £7.1m from the council, is to be spent buying and knocking down so-called “Caspon” houses on the estate, which date from the 1960s.

The authority is continuing to seek funding to secure the purchase and clearance of a further 200 Caspon properties on the Ings.

Coun John Black, city council portfolio holder for operational and strategic housing, said: “We hope residents will attend the events to hear how we are moving forward on the area action plan created with the community. I am disappointed that we have not received all the funding we bid for from the Government and that some residents will have to wait until more funding becomes available.

“We are looking at new ways of attracting funding to the area and as part of this have begun a process to procure a lead developer to build new homes in the area.”

One to one visits with residents affected by the plans will begin in April.

Long-term plans include the need to demolish about 2,000 sub-standard properties and deliver more 4,000 new and refurbished homes in the Ings and Preston Road areas.

The same financial assistance and compensation packages available under the former Gateway housing programme are available to residents.

Home owners will get the value of property plus 10 per cent, landlords will get the value plus 7.5 per cent, and tenants will get a home loss payment of £4,700 and possibly a disturbance payment.

Residents may also be able to access additional funding towards the cost of buying a new home.