Once finished, the houses will be handed over to the Yorkshire arm of the  Accent Group, an organisation which will then allocate them to key workers – such as teachers, nurses, firefighters and police officers - on a shared ownership basis.

Sitting alongside the five affordable houses will be two two-bedroom town houses.

Avenir Properties sales manager Amanda Brayshaw said: “While this may be our first affordable scheme in Ripon, it’s our second development here.

Two years ago our development at St Wilfrid’s Mews, which included converting the Victorian Chapel House, won the Civic Society’s award for best restored building.

“We aim to start work next month on all seven properties, and we are looking at a December completion date.

Harrogate Borough Council’s housing portfolio holder Coun Jean Butterfield welcomed the Avenir development. She said: “The district is crying out for houses for key workers and the Avenir scheme is a welcome addition to this housing stock.”

The building work is being carried out by Opel Construction, which has partnered Avenir on a number of previous developments, including the ones on St Wilfrid’s Mews.

For Further Information, please contact:

Amanda Brayshaw, Avenir Properties, on 01423 526 628

David Simister/Richard Chew, Different PR, on 0845 389 26 26