Page 47 - KPRM 2019

The combination of NUE loans and top-up loans (administered by NUE on behalf of the councils of Dover, Folkestone & Hythe and Tunbridge Wells) are designed
to help developers to bridge the gap between pre/post refurbishment values by providing a loan which takes account of cost of works, which banks and other lenders will not do. Without this joined-up approach these properties would have remained empty. In addition to this, £2m of funds was allocated with a specific focus on Margate to help meet the increased demand to tackle some of the larger buildings which can be converted to provide much needed family homes.
NUE Commercial
NUE’s primary focus has been on empty residential properties. However, over the years it has supported the conversion of vacant space above empty commercial units which have also been returned to use but not with loan support. In 2018 KCC secured an extra £1m for NUE to provide short term secured loans to return long term empty commercial properties (empty shops or small redundant workspace areas) to use for alternative commercial or mixed-use purposes, primarily in our coastal areas.
The Growing Places Fund (GPF) was established by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government and administered through the South East Local Enterprise Partnership. The aim of this funding is to unlock economic growth, create jobs and ‘kick-start’ house building at stalled development sites. Operating as a recyclable loan scheme it was the perfect match for NUE.
Under the NUE commercial banner a commitment has been made to return a minimum of eight commercial units and provide a minimum of 28 residential units by March 2022 with short term secured loan support. Twelve individual projects are currently funded in the districts of Dover, Folkestone and Hythe and Thanet.
NUE provided funding from its GPF allocation to finance a project in Folkestone: the transformation of a three-storey empty commercial unit of 252m2 (2,712ft2) with basic ancillary storage above. Following planning permission, the ground floor is now operational as a beauty salon (creating 7 jobs) and the first and second floors provide two 3 bedroom apartments which are now let.
No Use Empty commercial scheme: Sandgate Road, Folkestone.
Going forward
NUE continues to increase Council Tax receipts for local authorities throughout Kent, has attracted New Homes Bonus and is helping to generate new business rates through the NUE Commercial project. The initiative has created or safeguarded over 1,000 jobs and provided homes to more than 2,200 local people.
NUE have also introduced short term secured interest bearing loans to take forward smaller developments on redundant or vacant sites.
A loan of £600,000 was provided to Dublin Estates Ltd in December 2018 for the conversion and extension of a former public house to create three terraced dwellings, erection of three detached and a pair of semi-detached
dwellings, formation of vehicle crossovers, excavation works and landscaping. The project is near completion and two properties have already been sold. The NUE investment is due to be repaid on the sale of the third and fourth dwellings and will be recycled into a further project. Without the intervention of NUE, this site, which had remained empty for three years, would have taken much longer to develop into six new homes completed in just over a year.
Kent’s approach to tackling empty properties has
been widely praised winning three national awards for Regeneration and Partnership Working. The County Council recently approved support for NUE to at least 2021-22.
For more information:
www.nue.org.uk
Kent Property Market Report 2019 45
PHOTO: BROWNS CONSTRUCTION LTD