Fury at plans to give homes on £1.8m housing estate to refugees

Plans to provide Ukrainian and Afghan refugees with new build homes in a leafy English hamlet have not landed well with local residents, who have protested queue jumping.

Langtoft, with its tiny population of just 492, is a close-knit community in East Riding of Yorkshire but has been chosen by a local council to host people fleeing the war-torn nations.

The incoming refugees get first pick from a crop of expensive new-build homes worth roughly £700,000 each, with the entire estate valued at approximately £1.8million.

While locals are happy to welcome their vulnerable new neighbours, they have criticised South Kesteven District Council’s decision to prioritise them.

They said the decision has sparked “an outcry” on behalf of those already on the waitlist or struggling to get on the housing ladder.

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Speaking to the SWNS news agency, longtime resident Liz Jarman, 74, said people living in Langtoft have “not been given one chance” to buy any of the 41 homes on the estate.

She is not alone in her anger, with another anonymous resident saying: “We’ve got people struggling to get on the housing ladder and yet they find room for refugees.

“They should be going to bigger towns and cities where there’s a bigger housing stock.”

Ms Jarman also said she feared that “Little Langtoft” would not adequately provide for the new residents.

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Developers Ashwood Homes said the properties are “high-specification homes” in a “beautiful rural location”, but Ms Jarman said the village is poorly suited for refugees.

She said that while the prospect of welcoming refugees to the area was “wonderful” there is “no infrastructure”.

Ms Jarman added: “We want this done in their best interests, these people deserved to be helped and supported, but this is not the best way to do that.”

The welcoming attitude is shared by others living in Langtoft, with Liam Dodds saying he would “welcome them”.

He added: “Some of these people have gone through suffering you couldn’t imagine so I think we need to put things into perspective and help where we can.”

South Kesteven District Council said locals will be able to pick a home on the estate via the housing register after the incoming refugees have been housed.

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