Grantham glitch

The Council has belatedly realized that it could have a problem selling the Grantham House site at the top of Cranham Street. A private purchaser could upgrade the flats and take advantage of the existing planning status to let them all out to students. This would frustrate the Council’s objective of 50% social housing. The Council is therefore seeking to apply a covenant, or other condition, to the sale, which would mean either the buyer would have to upgrade to offer 50% social housing at currently acceptable standards or demolish the building and start again. Jericho is already a student favourite. Around 10% of properties, 168, are exempt from council tax due to sole occupancy by students. The City Council is making some efforts to combat ‘studentification’ and improve the standard of these and other ‘houses in multiple occupancy’ – those that are home to three or more unrelated people. The plan is to introduce a licensing scheme and have regular spot checks on quality. Most student house sharers are good neighbours, but some are noisy or irritate residents by leaving recycling containers permanently on the pavement.