MPs and council leaders from North Yorkshire are calling on the government to lower its housebuilding target for the county after it recently rose by more than double.
The group says that the new target of 4,144 new homes a year, a significant increase from the previous target of 1,384, would put severe pressure on the rural land in the area.
Senior councillors are said to be concerned that the new target is unachievable, with the most homes previously built in a year in the county being around 3,200 and the average over the last five years standing below 3,000.
Sir Alec Shelbrooke, Conservative MP for Wetherby and Easingwold, said there was “real concern housebuilding will become a free-for-all”.
Shelbrooke said: “Combined with the withdrawal of agreed timescales to merge our district local plans into one North Yorkshire local plan, halting the Selby local plan in its tracks, there is real concern among my constituents that house building will become a free-for-all and not a plan-led process.”
“Together with my North Yorkshire MP colleagues, we have teamed up with the council’s leadership to lobby the government on this, asking for a review of their imposed housing targets.”
“We’re committed to delivering the right homes in the right places, but this can only happen through a plan-led programme that includes adequate infrastructure in the region.”
In response, a government spokesperson said: “We have inherited the worst housing crisis in living memory and all areas of the country, including North Yorkshire, must play their part to deliver 1.5 million homes as part of our Plan for Change.”
Senior planners at North Yorkshire Council are worried that the new target may lead to developers submitting speculative applications and have concerns that this could lead to land banking rather than plots being developed.
North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for open to business, Cllr Mark Crane, said that a housing and economic needs assessment has been conducted and showed that the county needed between 2,500 and 3,000 new homes a year.
He said: “We feel the target of 4,144 properties is too high and not one we can achieve. We are grateful to our MPs for making the case on our behalf.”
Crane also added that it was unclear whether there were even enough “joiners and bricklayers” to build the number of homes required.
The government spokesperson said: “Our revised housing targets have been set in line with the needs of local areas, so more homes will be built in the right places.”
“But crucially we will ensure these are delivered alongside the necessary infrastructure and not at the expense of the environment.”
