Work is underway to build new affordable homes near York – and the £3.3 million project is being partly funded by money raised from a policy that effectively doubled the council tax charged on second properties in North Yorkshire.
A total of 11 ‘affordable’ homes have been earmarked for land at Station Lane in Shipton by Beningbrough.
North Yorkshire Council, which is working on the development with the Broadacres Housing Association, said the scheme will provide four three-bedroom, five two-bedroom and two one-bedroom properties. These properties will be available through social rent or shared ownership for people with a connection to the village and surrounding area.
From left: North Yorkshire Council’s housing strategy and partnership manager, Matt Lewer, the chief executive of Broadacres Housing Association, Claire Townson, the director of development and investment at Broadacres, Michael Jones, and growth manager at Homes England, Kate Walker-Freeman, at the site in Hunmanby (Image: North Yorkshire Council)
The council said the Shipton by Beningbrough scheme will see £3.3 million invested, including £1.9 million from Broadacres, £905,000 from Homes England and £440,000 from North Yorkshire Council.
North Yorkshire Council has also announced that 15 affordable homes will be built on land south of Sands Lane in Hunmanby, near Filey, with one, two and three-bedroom properties to be available for social rent and shared ownership. The homes will be prioritised for people with a local connection to the area.
The council said the Hunmanby development represents a total investment of £4.2 million, including £2.4 million from Broadacres, £1.42 million from Homes England and £435,000 from the local authority.
A digital image showing the Hunmanby site, which will see 15 affordable homes built on land south of Sands Lane (Image: North Yorkshire Council)
North Yorkshire Council said all the homes are set to be completed by the autumn of 2027 and will include energy-efficient features and low-carbon heating.
The council’s executive member for housing, Cllr Simon Myers, said the new homes are the first to be funded by the second property tax, adding: “Without the grants from the second homes premium, they would not have been possible.”
A council spokesperson added that money raised through the second homes premium is also “supporting a number of other council priorities, including housing schemes and regeneration projects”.
“When we introduced the second homes premium, we promised that the funding would be reinvested to provide more social and supported housing for local people, with an emphasis on social rent,” Cllr Myers said. “We are the only council in England to ring-fence this money and reinvest it exclusively in housing-related projects.”
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Broadacres’ chief executive, Claire Townson, said the developments will “provide much-needed affordable homes in the communities that need them most”.
North Yorkshire Council became one of the first authorities in the UK to introduce the 100 per cent premium on council tax bills for second homes in April 2025.
The levy has raised millions of pounds for the authority’s housing project, but campaigners have urged the council to scrap the levy.
Filey-founded campaign group SHOUT (Second Homeowners Opposed to Unfair Taxation), which has 150 members, submitted a 1,000-signature petition against the council’s double council tax charge on second homes.
The group argues the council should halt the policy until it has carried out a full assessment and consultation on the measure.
Councillors said the policy should be scrutinised by a special committee after the petition was debated at a recent meeting.
