Shock at scale of demand for homes in Dales

A home in the Dales is beyond the reach of many locals

The need to address the demand for housing remains one of the most pressing challenges faced by councils covering vast swathes of Yorkshire’s countryside, amid fears rural communities are being ripped apart as househunters are forced to move away to cheaper locations to get on the property ladder.

But the true scale of the problem has emerged after figures released by Richmondshire District Council yesterday revealed there have been 27 bids for each of the authority’s available homes during the past 12 months.

A pioneering online estate agency in North Yorkshire, called the choice-based lettings scheme, has seen 5,810 bids for just 215 council homes in Richmondshire alone in the past year.

Richmondshire District Council’s leader John Blackie said: “Richmondshire is at the top of the league when it comes to the cost of housing, and these statistics are quite staggering. The Yorkshire Dales is a desirable place to live and wealthy second home owners have driven up the price of property.

“Many people simply cannot afford to buy their own home, and are faced with applying for a council property. It is absolutely amazing the number of bids we have had. The issue of affordable housing remains high on the agenda, but even I have been shocked by the scale of demand. We will never be able to meet this demand, but we will continue to bring forward affordable housing schemes wherever we can.”

While property markets have slumped across the country, the Dales has weathered the economic downturn and an average home now costs more than £287,000. But a quarter of all incomes for the Yorkshire Dales National Park’s 10,000 households average just £16,000, with the local economy centred on the relatively poorly- paid farming and tourism sectors.

Despite the massive demand for affordable homes, the figures for Richmondshire show just 169 properties received successful bids and now have new tenants.

Coun Blackie pledged to launch a review to establish why not all the homes had been taken, but admitted the Government’s controversial “bedroom tax” may have prompted applicants to opt not to pursue their bid.

The council confirmed applicants had deemed the area where they were being offered a property was unsuitable, the home was too small or they failed to respond to the letter informing them their bid had been successful.

The choice-based lettings scheme was launched in 2011 and is aimed at helping house-hunters looking for homes in some of England’s property hot spots, including York and the Yorkshire Dales. The scheme involves a single application form wherever the applicant is, along with an overarching lettings policy and waiting list.

One of the key elements of the project has been the launch of a website to provide up-to-date details of available properties in a move to mirror the boom in virtual house-hunting online.

When the initiative was set up, as many as 14,000 people were on council waiting lists for affordable housing across York, Richmondshire, Hambleton, Ryedale, Craven, Scarborough and Selby. At the start of April, Richmondshire District Council had 1,034 people looking for homes through the scheme.