SELBY'S council leader has pledged to spend cash on poorly-insulated prefab homes before the authority ceases to exist – in case the money is taken away and spent in North Yorkshire’s more affluent areas.

Coun Mark Crane said it would be “a great shame” if the district council’s remaining housing budget – which is soon to be absorbed into the new North Yorkshire Council – were to be spent in Harrogate or Richmond.

The Conservative leader said the authority frequently underspent on its housing revenue account, a ring-fenced budget for council homes, and now was the time to spend it. Nearly £1.4m of surplus and underspend is being carried over from the last financial year.

Sherburn-in-Elmet councillor David Buckle said many of the bungalows in Beech Grove, mostly occupied by older people, had walls less than an inch thick.

“Those tenants are very concerned with the increase in heating costs,” he said.

The homes do not comply with current energy regulations and so, once empty, cannot be re-let without substantial repairs.

Coun Buckle, executive member for communities and economic development, added: “Tenants of those properties see these houses being done up and yet they’re shivering. We’ve got a pot of money that we could really spend on something that was erected in wartime.”

Coun Crane added: “Given how much energy costs have gone up in recent months, these people will be spending far more than the average person heating their house because clearly the warmth is not staying in.

“We really must do it before September, because once winter comes it will cost people a fortune to heat those houses and that’s simply not acceptable.”

Deputy leader Richard Musgrave said: “I understand that surveys are booked and will be taking place on these properties this year. I’ve urged officers to do them as quickly as possible because I don’t think it’s acceptable for people to live in houses in that condition.”

Costs for refurbishing the Beech Grove homes cannot yet be made public for contractual reasons.

Councillors on the executive committee were told that spending the housing cash would not be affected by new rules around what North Yorkshire’s district councils can spend before they become part of North Yorkshire Council on April 1 next year.

The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Michael Gove, has issued a direction which gives the county council’s executive the power to halt any relevant financial decision which could be of detriment to the new authority.