Acute housing affordability challenges continue to persist, as the proportion of local authority areas in England where the average first-time buyer home falls in scope of Stamp Duty almost quadrupled in April, research from Skipton Building Society has revealed Skipton Group’s Home Affordability Index has reaffirmed data released this week by the Building Societies Association (BSA) revealing that a significant number of potential first-time buyers have failed to get on the property ladder since the financial crisis These findings are part of an update to the comprehensive ‘First-time buyers: age old problems modern solutions’ report that was published last year Today’s first-time buyers face a double affordability challenge – an almost record-high cost of buying a home and the end of record-low mortgage rates Skipton’s data showed one of the biggest challenges for first-time buyers is around affordability – with 90% unable to buy a typical first-time buyer home in their local area Many were currently stuck in the private rented sector (PRS) where rental repayments as a proportion of income are significantly higher than mortgage repayments – even when the recent rise in mortgage rates has been considered Skipton Group brought together senior stakeholders from across the financial services and housing ecosystem at a Parliamentary reception at the House of Commons, focused on solving the UK’s pressing home affordability challenge for both renters and home buyers head of mortgages at Skipton Building Society said: “Our Home Affordability Index completely reinforces the findings from the Building Societies Association the country has a chronic lack of home affordability and last month’s reforms are undoubtedly making things much tougher “Significantly more first-time buyers are having to find additional funds and we recognise the real financial struggles and anxiety this is undoubtedly causing people “We’re doing all we can to play a meaningful part in tackling this issue – from designing new mortgages through to recently sharing our findings and thinking directly in Westminster not words will change this and what’s needed is genuine collaboration across Government and the wider housing industry to solve what is ultimately a systemic issue.” This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Two Dublin men have been remanded in custody accused of attempted extortion of a €40,000 so-called "tax" on top of a previous €50,000 debt paid off by a recovered drug user's family four years ago with an address at Garristown in north Co Dublin were each charged with demanding €40,000 with menaces from a man from April 7 to May 1 this year Mr Skipton has an additional charge for the same type of offence seeking €50,000 from January to April 2021 They were remanded in custody after appearing before Judge Grainne Malone at Dublin District on Saturday Garda Ross Brierley said Mr Treston "made no reply" to the charge and he would face bail objections Asked for an outline of the evidence against that man Garda Brierly said it was alleged that from April 7 to May 1 Mr Treston demanded €40,000 from a male who had previously paid off a €50,000 drug debt in 2021 Today's News in 90 Seconds - May 3rd The garda described the new amount sought as a form of tax and he added that there was a demand with menaces Mr Treston met the alleged victim to be paid €18,000 They were "intercepted" en route to a bank to withdraw the money defence counsel Kevin McCrave said Mr Treston was deferring his bail application was pleading for bail and would obey strict terms including a curfew and a no-contact condition citing the seriousness of the case and possible interference with witnesses the victim who knew Mr Skipton had been subjected to threats over a drug debt His mental health had suffered during the Covid pandemic and he allegedly bought drugs from Mr Skipton and sometimes had to store cocaine for Mr Skipton It led to him suffering suicidal tendencies The court heard the man's family were hard-working and not connected to crime and his father cleared the €50,000 debt four years ago The father took early retirement to assist his son who has since quit drugs and is now working and attempting to reimburse his father the court heard Mr Skipton resumed contacting the man It was alleged he began seeking €40,000 or there would be "immediate consequences" and threats were made to his family and property The court heard claims the complainant was afraid and forced to sell his car and cleared off his motor loan with the funds from the sale He was instructed to take out another bank loan to pay the Mr Skipton It was alleged the man met Mr Skipton and Mr Treston The garda said the man later went to a bank accompanied by Mr Treston The court heard that the bank told the alleged victim he could only get €18,000 and they left but returned to the bank on Friday when the pair were arrested It was claimed Mr Treston was working at the direction of Mr Skipton Phones and suspected "tick lists" about money owed were allegedly recovered from Mr Skipton's address and will be analysed Ms Richardson submitted that there was no evidence her client had made demands and the money in 2021 was alleged to have been paid to a third party She told the court his family could stand €7,000 bail The complainant was not required to testify while stressing the accused had the presumption of innocence Judge Malone denied Mr Skipton's bail application given the level of concern expressed by the garda The charges are under section 17 of the Public Order Act Directions from the DPP must be sought concerning their trial venue but Judge Malone said she expected it would go to the Circuit Court She remanded them in custody to appear again next week Please check your inbox to verify your details Now download the free app for all the latest Sunday World News, Crime, Irish Showbiz and Sport. Available on Apple and Android devices incorporated in England and Wales (company number 15236213) having its registered office at 4 Bouverie Street The content you are trying to view is exclusive to our subscribers You have reached the limit for gifting for this month Skipton will launch a cashback product range for homebuyers who fail to complete a house purchase before the upcoming stamp duty threshold deadline come with up to 1.5% cashback paid directly into a borrower’s bank account 15 days following completion The offer is available at 60% loan to value will also guarantee to complete all submitted cases where conveyancers have sent certificates of title by 25 March It points out that it has seen a 54% jump in customers trying to complete house purchases in March compared to a year ago Barclays and Lloyds Banking Group — which includes Halifax and Bank of Scotland — have offered similar stamp duty completion pledges the stamp duty rate threshold will fall to £125,000 from £250,000 for home movers and to £300,000 from £425,000 for first-time buyers The proportion of local authority areas in England where the average FTB home falls in scope of stamp duty will almost quadruple overnight from 8.4% to 32% next month The reforms will add £6,250 to the cost of buying a first home worth £425,000 The firm reiterated its call on the government “to reconsider stamp duty threshold for FTBs as acute affordability challenges persist” Skipton Building Society chief executive of home financing Charlotte Harrison says: “Our research shows that the country has a chronic lack of home affordability and is about to get even worse “The upcoming stamp duty reforms will further hurt FTBs and Skipton Group has been actively urging the government to maintain the current nil rate stamp duty threshold of £425,000 for people buying their first home.”  Tagged with: Skipton Building Society has partnered with Uinsure to allow its members to use the insurance provider’s platform to generate quotes Skipton is the fourth of the top 10 largest building societies to collaborate with Uinsure which can automatically generate quotes from a panel of UK insurers Skipton Building Society product lead for partnerships Umera Patel says: “At Skipton we’ve always focused on creating a better future for our members making sure they have the tools and support to navigate life’s important milestones Our partnership with Uinsure represents a continuation of this purpose as we work together to provide straightforward “We’re now looking forward to delivering this new and simplified way of accessing quality insurance to our members.” Uinsure chief distribution officer Lauren Bagley says: “Skipton Building Society has a proud heritage of serving its members with integrity and care and we share their commitment to creating a positive impact on customers’ lives through technology that simplifies some of life’s essential tasks – like arranging insurance “This partnership is the latest example of the trust that leading financial brands have placed in our team and we’re excited to support Skipton in delivering on its promise of exceptional value for its members.” the five-year fixes will have cashback incentives of either 0.75% or 1.5% The cashback will be paid directly into a borrower’s bank account 15 days after completion 90% and 95% loan to value (LTV) and will be open to those who do not complete before the stamp duty threshold changes Skipton Building Society has also announced a guarantee to complete all submitted cases where conveyancers have sent the Certificates of Title before 25 March The mutual said it was already seeing a 54% rise in people wanting to complete a house purchase compared to March last year CEO of home financing at Skipton Building Society said: “Our teams will work round the clock doing extra hours to help as many first-time buyers complete before the stamp duty changes but appreciate how worrying it is for some to know that if their chain does not complete in time “Our Home Affordability Index research shows that the country has a chronic lack of home affordability and is about to get even worse The upcoming stamp duty reforms will further hurt first-time buyers and Skipton Group has been actively urging the government to maintain the current nil-rate stamp duty threshold of £425,000 for people buying their first home.” She added: “Today’s new mortgage launch is another example of our innovative product range designed to help more people get on the property ladder and supporting the next generation of homeowners.”  Barclays and Lloyds Banking Group have also made guarantees to help buyers beat the stamp duty deadline We take reasonable care to correct errors or omissions on our site as soon as we can after we are made aware of them we do not guarantee that all information is accurate and free of errors and omissions at all times and we do not accept any responsibility or liability for any loss you may suffer as a result 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Part of Arc network, www.arc-network.com To support those who don’t manage to complete their house purchase before the upcoming Stamp Duty (SDLT) deadline, Skipton is set to launch a new cashback product range on Monday 24th March aim to provide a helping hand for homebuyers which will be paid directly into their bank account 15 days following completion The society said it is also guaranteeing to complete all submitted cases where conveyancers have sent across certificates of title by no later than 25th March This news comes as first-time buyers have less than two weeks to complete house purchases before major Stamp Duty changes come into force Research from Skipton Group’s Home Affordability Index revealed that the proportion of local authority areas in England where the average first-time buyer home falls in scope of Stamp Duty will almost quadruple overnight from 8.4% to 32.0% on 1st April CEO of home financing at Skipton Building Society “We’re doing all we can to help but appreciate how worrying it is for some to know that if their chain does not complete in time “Our Home Affordability Index research shows that the country has a chronic lack of home affordability and is about to get even worse “The upcoming Stamp Duty reforms will further hurt first-time buyers and Skipton Group has been actively urging the Government to maintain the current nil rate stamp duty threshold of £425,000 for people buying their first home.” Harrison concluded: “Today’s new mortgage launch is another example of our innovative product range designed to help more people get on the property ladder and supporting the next generation of homeowners.” Skipton Building Society is launching a cashback mortgage range to help homebuyers who do not manage to complete their purchase before the stamp duty deadline The mortgages are five-year fixed rate products and are available for those with deposits up to 5% They provide 1.50% cashback which will be paid directly into the borrower’s bank account 15 days following completion Skipton is also guaranteeing it will complete all submitted cases where conveyancers have sent across certificates of title by no later than 25 March The stamp duty deadline is on 31 March and after this date the thresholds on the homebuying tax will change The nil rate for movers will fall from £250,000 to £125,000 for first-time buyers it will drop from £425,000 to £300,000 It has meant many buyers have been rushing to complete on home purchases in a bid to avoid being hit by the tax the reforms will add £6,250 to the cost of buying a first home worth £425,000 The building society has itself seen a 54% increase in people attempting to complete on their house purchase this month compared to March 2024 50% were first-time buyers desperately trying to get their purchase over the line and save on stamp duty Meanwhile Skipton Group’s unique Home Affordability Index revealed the proportion of local authority areas in England where the average first-time buyer home falls in scope of stamp duty will almost quadruple overnight from 8.4% to 32.0% on 1 April CEO of home financing at Skipton Building Society said: “Our teams will work round the clock “We’re doing all we can to help but appreciate how worrying it is for some to know that if their chain does not complete in time “Our Home Affordability Index research shows that the country has a chronic lack of home affordability and is about to get even worse “The upcoming stamp duty reforms will further hurt first-time buyers and Skipton Group has been actively urging the government to maintain the current nil rate stamp duty threshold of £425,000 for people buying their first home “Today’s new mortgage launch is another example of our innovative product range designed to help more people get on the property ladder and supporting the next generation of homeowners.” The new cashback mortgages will be available from Monday 24 March and website in this browser for the next time I comment Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Register for our free weekly newsletter for all the latest mortgage news Will the increase in stamp duty on 1 April 2025 make you less likely to buy a property View Results   Register for our free weekly newsletter and awards updates Skipton Building Society has lowered rates by up to 0.32% with an example including its two-year fixed remortgage rate at 90% loan to value (LTV) with a £495 fee Other examples of rate changes include the two-year fixed rate for remortgage at 85% LTV with no fee The lender’s two-year fixed purchase rate with no fee comes to 5.35% and its first-time buyer-only two-year fixed rate at 95% LTV with £1,000 cashback is 5.68% Skipton Building Society has also introduced new cashback mortgage options to its mortgage range The additions include a full selection of fixed rate mortgage across 60-90% LTV with both fee-free and fee-paying options available on two- and five-year terms Examples of the products include its fee-free two-year fixed rate at 75% LTV with £250 cashback and its two-year fixed rate with a £495 fee £250 cashback and an interest rate of 4.89% © AE3 Media Ltd, 21 Great Winchester Street, London, EC2N 2JA, Company Registration number 8938488. 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If you would like to know more about our privacy policy, please follow this link https://www.mortgagesolutions.co.uk/privacy-policy/ Win HappyPremiumSearch Rayohits radionorth yorkshirenewsFirst council housing in decades to be built in SkiptonNorth Yorkshire Council is set to spend £840,000 Councillors have authorised the purchase of the first new council housing to be built in a North Yorkshire market town for decades North Yorkshire Council is set to spend £840,000 buying 12 new homes in Skipton The housing will be built as part of a new development of 53 properties in the town’s Airedale Avenue Developer Skipton Properties has committed to building 16 affordable homes as part of the scheme As well as the 12 bought for rent by the council four other homes will be acquired by Bracewell Homes the authority’s separate shared ownership housing company Council officials say there are high levels of housing need within the former Craven district with almost 700 applicants on the housing register Skipton has the highest concentration of people on the list according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service The purchase was agreed by senior councillors at a meeting on Friday The new housing has been welcomed by Councillor Simon Myers “I would think it’s the first new council homes in Skipton for 40 years “It’s only a drop in the ocean compared to the hundreds on the register but it does mean that 12 families get on the waiting list and into a new “I’m delighted we’re going to get these homes and I look forward to more in due course.” The properties will be allocated to families on the council’s housing waiting list Priority will be given to those who initially have a local connection to Skipton before being offered to those elsewhere in North Yorkshire The council approved its housing revenue account 30-year business plan last year The document includes the delivery of 500 new council homes over the next five years to 2029 The majority of the funding to buy the properties will come from the authority’s housing revenue account with around £39,000 coming from right-to-buy receipts The housing development has full planning approval and work is due to start on site in early 2026 The new housing is expected to be completed in phases between March 2026 and December 2026 First for all the latest news from across the UK every hour on Hits Radio on DAB, at hitsradio.co.uk and on the Rayo app. Red Brick Road has launched ‘Founded on Fairness,’ a new brand platform and campaign for Skipton Building Society.  This initiative marks the start of Skipton’s re-positioning, following Red Brick Road securing the account in a 2024 pitch. It aligns with Skipton’s founding principles by focusing on helping people own homes, save for their future, and build financial resilience.  The campaign includes three TV spots directed by Ric Cantor, starring actor Simon Farnaby, who plays an anti-hero in scenarios of everyday unfairness, contrasting with Skipton’s portrayal as fair.  The campaign also extends to out-of-home advertising (OOH), radio, and social media, aiming to position Skipton as a fairer alternative to high street banks.  Nick Mortimer, CMO at Skipton, said: “It’s with great pleasure that we launch this step on the road to a Fairer financial future for all.  “We know that people want financial institutions that act with integrity, and the Skipton differences: being member owned, putting people first, and demonstrating fairness in products, policies and services are more motivating than ever.  “Fairness is a founding principle for the business. So, this campaign has always felt the right way to bring that to life.” Matt Davis, owner and ECD at Red Brick Road, said: “We’re incredibly proud of the work we’ve achieved with Skipton over this last year and are delighted to be bringing the Founded on Fairness brand platform to life with such entertaining and enjoyable storytelling.” Helen Whitley, client partner at EssenceMediacom North, said: “With over six years of partnership behind us, this campaign marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter in our work with Skipton Building Society.  “The ‘Founded on Fairness’ relaunch is a pivotal moment for them, placing fairness at the core of their brand proposition.  “We’re proud to have crafted a media strategy that brings it to life, overseeing all media bookings.”  Whitley added: “We look forward to continuing our long-standing collaboration and delivering impactful media that support their vision of a fairer, more transparent future for their members.” has announced the sale of Carleton-in-Craven Pharmacy near Skipton Built around You.Your expert business property advisers Located in a self-contained unit in the namesake village of Carleton-in-Craven the well-established community pharmacy dispenses almost 15,000  items per month including deliveries via three self-charging hybrid vehicles which make up over half of the business The pharmacy has been owned and operated by its founder He recently decided to sell the business in order to retire Following a confidential sales process with Jon Booth at Christie & Co the pharmacy has been purchased by Zakar Hayat and Mubashir Ahmed of Mpharm Holdings Limited which owns two other pharmacies - one in Sheffield and one in Burnley Jonathan Taylor, former owner of Carleton-in-Craven Pharmacy “After starting my pharmacy from scratch over 12.5 years ago it was an incredibly tough decision to sell but I believe we have found the right buyer to hand the pharmacy over to I wish Zakar and Mubashir all the best for the future.” “We feel like now is the right time to take on a new challenge - a modern thriving and busy pharmacy set in the heart of the scenic village of Carleton has built this wonderful project and we aim to further expand the reputation and array of services to ensure Carleton-in-Craven remains the hub of North Yorkshire for all healthcare needs.” “Carleton-in-Craven Pharmacy consistently dispenses almost 15,000 items each month with almost a third of these being MDS patients delivered via a fleet of self-charging hybrid vehicles across the region The opportunity for the new owners is to grow the provision of additional services across the patient base and it is pleasing that the new owners have a vision to move this successful business forward I look forward to seeing how that progresses and wish them the greatest of success.” Carleton-in-Craven Pharmacy was sold for an undisclosed price Visit our Business Search page to find out more about our current medical listings. Keep up-to-date with our latest listings and more… © Christie & Co 2024 | A member of Christie Group Skipton Building Society will introduce a new cashback mortgage range on Monday offering up to 1.50% cashback on five-year fixed rate deals across a variety of loan-to-value tiers and 95% loan-to-value (LTV) and will include cashback of 0.75% or 1.50% paid to the borrower’s bank account 15 days after completion The move comes as the lender aims to support homebuyers — especially first-time buyers — facing higher costs from upcoming changes to the Stamp Duty threshold As part of its effort to assist buyers racing to complete before the April 1 deadline the mutual has committed to completing all submitted applications where conveyancers have provided certificates of title by March 25 Skipton Group continues to call on the government to reconsider the planned changes to Stamp Duty thresholds The current nil rate threshold of £425,000 for first-time buyers is set to be reduced which Skipton argues will add thousands of pounds to purchasing costs for those entering the market The research also highlights ongoing affordability issues revealing that nearly 90% of would-be first-time buyers across Great Britain are priced out of homeownership based on their current financial situation Skipton said it has seen a 54% increase in completions compared to March last year, with half of those being first-time buyers attempting to finalise their transactions before the tax change takes effect “Our teams will work round the clock doing extra hours to help as many first-time buyers complete before the Stamp Duty changes,” said Charlotte Harrison (pictured) chief executive of home financing at Skipton Building Society “Our new mortgage launch is another example of our innovative product range designed to help more people get on the property ladder and supporting the next generation of homeowners.”