Great Yarmouth to buy up bedsits and guesthouses
Great Yarmouth Council is to spend £2 million buying up run down bedsits and guesthouses in a bid to provide better quality homes in the borough.
The local authority has approved plans to buy up and repair houses of multiple occupation (HMOs) and guesthouses which are ‘often not well maintained’ and according to a council report, can ‘bring an otherwise attractive area down’.
The council is looking to renovate the buildings and bring them back into use as houses or flats in an improved condition.
Councillors met earlier this week and approved a £2 million capital budget to fund the project.
‘The £2m will be funded from borrowing and the revenue implications (costs) of the borrowing will be mitigated by the revenue income stream from the proposals,’ the report states.
‘In principle the council aims to ‘recycle’ some of this funding through the sale of properties.
‘The council has an opportunity to play an active role in shaping the nature of residential communities in the town centre,’ the report adds.
According to the report, the scheme should be ‘cost-neutral’ with the ‘potential’ to produce a profit over a 30-year payback period.
‘Rather than simply leaving this to the open market the council can play a role by acquiring residential properties in order to provide a greater number of better-quality homes in the borough. This should create a greater mix of properties in order to foster more sustainable communities.
‘Any proposal must be financially viable. Currently, the proposals have been modelled to payback over a 30-year period. The report models two different examples of the kinds of property which could be considered. The council anticipates these properties will require some degree of refurbishment. It has modelled conservative rates for costs, voids and property maintenance. Options exist for the properties to be either sold to generate a capital receipt or let to provide better quality rental accommodation for local people.’
Photo by Spiterman.
