Rishi has praised the work of a village charity in creating affordable homes in its community.
Rishi said the Hudswell Community Charity’s latest work to create more social housing units in the village near Richmond was very impressive.
After seeing the three completed homes, which will be occupied by people with strong local connections, he said: “The charity has done an excellent job of creating much-needed homes for local people in their community.
“The quality and sustainability of the three units is very impressive and I think what has been achieved by the charity in Hudswell is a great example of how a village can help itself to remain vibrant.”
The new homes – called Plews Cottages – are modular, timber framed, highly insulated and extremely energy efficient, powered by infra-red heating systems, solar energy and stored electricity. They are also designed to be suitable for people with disabilities.
Two are for rent and the third is shared equity.
They have been erected by local builder Rob Petch, supported by other local tradespeople and also volunteers from the village.
The project brings the total number of homes owned by the charity to nine. Three were opened by Rishi in 2017 and three others date back to the early 20th century, when they were converted to almshouses from a former school.
Funding for the development has come from rent from the six existing homes the charity has created plus a grant from the former Richmondshire District Council and a mortgage through the Charity Bank.
Martin Booth, secretary of the Hudswell Community Charity, said the new homes would be ready to be occupied towards the end of February.
He added: “Many villages in the Yorkshire Dales have become dominated by second and holiday homes, often meaning that local families are not able to live there. In Hudswell we are determined that this won't happen here, and the provision of affordable housing, along with several other local initiatives that sustain village life, has helped to ensure that we have a healthy demographic mix in the village, with an increasing number of young families.”
