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Stories for 3 January 2008

The Northern Echo News

'Farcical' packs hit home sales

NORTH-EAST estate agents have blasted the "farcical" introduction of Home Information Packs (HIPs), which they say have slashed the number of new homes coming onto the market.After the scheme was widened to cover all properties, one leading estate agent said he had already seen a 20 per cent reduction in homes being placed up for sale and expected a similar trend to continue in the early new year.The packs were introduced by the Government to speed up the house-buying process by giving potential buyers free-of-charge, up-to-date and up-front information on a property.HIPs were introduced for homes with four or more bedrooms in England and Wales on August 1, and three bedroom properties on September 10. They were extended to one and two bed properties on December 14.But they have proved controversial, amid claims that would-be sellers are being put off by the cost of preparing them.Sellers typically pay between £300 and £500 for a HIP, but there have been reports of some people being charged up to £700.Stephen McOwan, a director of Sandersons, which has estate agents in Darlington, Barnard Castle, Richmond, Catterick, Northallerton and Stokesley, said there had been a dramatic fall in homes being brought to the market after the packs came into force.Mr McOwan said: "You are talking about a 20 per cent reduction. We expect going forward into 2008 we will see a similar reduction in one and two bedroom properties coming onto the market."The impact of HIPs comes at the worst possible time for many estate agents who already grappling with an apparent slowdown in the housing market.Mr McOwan said: "There are lots of other negative influences on the market at the moment. "The whole thing is a farce really - the Government has not listened at all to the professionals involved in home buying and selling who warned about HIPs."Across all of our offices we have not had a single buyer ask to see a Home Information Pack."HIPS include information on local searches, evidence that the seller owns the property and an Energy Performance Certificate showing how energy efficient the home is, among other things.Michael Poole, of Michael Poole Estate Agents, in Middlesbrough, vice-chairman of the North-East branch of the National Association of Estate Agents, said HIPs had created a lot of extra paperwork that nobody wanted.However, he said despite initial reservations, estate agents now had to try to make the scheme work.He said: "It is down to estate agents to start calling the tune on this, stop blaming everyone else and get on with it and try to make HIPs work properly."The website hipsnortheast. com was launched last August to help home owners compile HIPs. Since then, it has won contracts to assist a number of estate agents provide HIPs to clients.Managing director Christine Wilson said the past six months had been "very busy" as home owners and estate agents got to grips with the legislation.She said: "There has been a lot of scaremongering about HIPs, but there are lots of things that are positive about them."  more...

'Parking fees a result of Government capping'

WHEN Hambleton District Council had its budget capped by the Government in 2005, senior councillors warned that the financial impact would be far-reaching.Tourist information centres, security camera schemes and street wardens have all felt the pinch as the authority has tried to cut hundreds of thousands of pounds from its budget, the penalty for setting a council tax rise of more than five per cent.Faced with trying to find new ways of generating income, the council has turned to the introduction of car parking charges to replace free disc parking in Northallerton, Thirsk, Bedale and Stokesley.It is not the first time the issue has arisen. In the late Eighties, 20,000 people signed a petition opposing the charges. Five years later, a public inquiry ruled that fees should not be brought in because of fears about damage to trade.In 1998, proposals were rejected for a third time following a campaign by traders, who said the charges would have disastrous financial consequences.Council leader Arthur Barker said the issue this time was not if the charges would be introduced, but what they will be.He said: "In 2005, we were capped because we put council tax up by £12. Because the Government played the percentage game, we were penalised for having one of the lowest starting council taxes in the country."In the light of that decision, we have got to look at getting income from another source. We reconsidered our financial strategy and car parking charges were part of that strategy."The proposals are for parking in Northallerton and Thirsk to be 40p an hour and £1.50 a day. In Stokesley, it would be 20p an hour and £1 a day. Bedale would be 50p a day.Charges would be brought in at the Applegarth, Hambleton Forum and Crosby Road, in Northallerton, and Kirkgate, Market Place, Marage, Millgate and Nursery, in Thirsk.In Bedale, the charges would apply to the Auction Mart and Bridge Street, and in Stokesley, the High Street and the Showfield.Council estimates put the potential income at £450,000 a year.Coun Barker said: "This money is not for any kind of expansion. It is needed because we do not know how else to get sufficient money to maintain the existing services."Last month, the council's cabinet agreed to consultation on the proposed charges.Coun Barker said he understands fears that the charges will damage trade, but does not believe that will be the case.He said: "Hambleton District Council puts an awful lot of money into market towns, so it is not in our interests to affect their viability. We do not anticipate that many people will be put off at this level of charge. They are quite modest and lower than any of the surrounding towns."  more...

Redcap honoured by Turner Prize artist

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Council’s note from the palace

PARISH councillors in a   more...

Dead man named

A MAN who became trapped in ropes and died in the River Tyne has been named by police as 27-year-old Malcolm Shields.   more...

Severe weather warning as gritters take to roads

ROADS around the region are   more...

Norman’s Regency period nears end

A RESTAURANT that has   more...

Joey Barton latest: footballer granted bail

NEWCASTLE United footballer Joey Barton will be released from jail after being granted bail by a judge at Liverpool Crown Court today, his solicitor Daniel Weed has said.   more...

Rowers dine on crisps as Christmas Day treat

WHILE most people were tucking   more...

4,000 uninsured cars taken off region’s roads

NEARLY 4,000 uninsured cars   more...

Raider smashes through wall to burgle neighbour's houses

A RAIDER broke into a flat, ransacked it and then used an axe to   more...

Old boy attempts to reunite 644 orphans via website

From its inception, St George's House Orphanage operated from Otley Road, Harrogate, until January 1955, when it   more...

Barton refused bail

NEWCASTLE United footballer Joey Barton, who is facing charges of assault and affray, will remain in jail after Liverpool Magistrates Court again refused bail today.   more...

Police apply for more time to question teens over man's death

OFFICERS investigating the death of father-of-two Ron Sharples will this morning apply to the courts for more time to question three teenagers arrested in connection with the incident.   more...

Allotment fire

SEVERAL sheds on a private allotment in Dipton, near Consett, were severely damaged by fire this afternoon.   more...

Disruption for rail travellers

RAIL travellers in the North-East are facing disruption to journey times for the next three weekends while essential maintenance work is carried out.   more...