A lack of affordable homes in the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is forcing young and low-paid families to move away, a meeting has heard.
Members of Harrogate Borough Council’s overview and scrutiny commission last night called for greater action to bring forward more affordable homes in the area, which has seen average property prices climb to around £320,000, according to Zoopla.
The AONB covers around two-thirds of the Harrogate district but only has 9% of its population and councillor Tom Watson, who represents the Nidd Valley ward, expressed fears that it could become “barren”.
He said:
“If we don’t have small developments in the area, village schools are going to close, pubs are already on the way out and village shops are also going to go.
“The AONB is there to protect the countryside, but we have got to make sure the area is a living one and not barren.”
227 households on waiting list
Created in 1994, the AONB was introduced to conserve the countryside with levels of protection from developments.
A total of 253 homes were recently proposed at sites in Darley, Dacre, Summerbridge and Pateley Bridge under the council’s Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-35. But government planning inspector ruled that they would have had too great an impact.
Since then, a growing number of residents have struggled to get a footing on the property ladder with 227 households currently on the council’s waiting list for social housing in Upper Nidderdale.
And with an average of just 20 vacancies becoming available each year, the waiting list would take around 10 years to clear if no more households came forward.
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Councillor Pat Marsh, leader of the council’s Liberal Democrats, described the situation as “really sad” and said efforts to build affordable homes on small plots of council-owned land were only a “tiny drop in the ocean”.
Council planners said they were also demanding affordable homes be built at developments of more than 10 properties to try tackle the problem.
Smaller profits
However, Jenny Kerfoot, executive officer for housing growth at the council, said landowners were often reluctant to bring forward plans for affordable housing because of the smaller profits involved.
She added the council was hopeful these landowners have “given up hope that their land is worth a lot of money” now that the Local Plan has been adopted and any large developments have been ruled out.
She said:
“There won’t be any of these big sites in the AONB or predominantly for market housing so it’s our intention now to approach those landowners.”
Councillor Victoria Oldham, a Conservative who represents the Washburn ward, said another possible solution would be the conversion of disused farm buildings, but she added any new developments were often met with opposition from locals.
She said:
“We all know little pockets of land in the area where a pair of semis could easily go, but half of the problem would be the negativity from parish councils or people in the immediate vicinity.
“I’m pretty much against large developments in the AONB because we haven’t got the transport facilities. A lot of places don’t even have shops or post offices – and you can forget banking.
“But one or two houses in areas would be of benefit as something needs to be done.”
Flood warning issued for River Nidd near Pateley Bridge
The government’s flood information service has issued a flood warning for the River Nidd just south of Pateley Bridge.
The warning, which was issued shortly before 4pm, says flooding is expected at Low Laithe between Dacre Banks and Glasshouses.
It adds roads and farmland are expected to flood and immediate action is required:
“Levels on the River Nidd are rising at Pateley Bridge. Please be aware that persistent and heavy rain is forecast until Thursday. Please avoid walking or driving through flood water.”
Two hours earlier the flood information service issued a less severe flood alert for the Upper Nidd around Wath and Lofthouse, just north of Pateley Bridge.
The Upper Nidd alert says:
“Areas most at risk are low lying land and roads.
“Please avoid using low lying footpaths near local watercourses and do not walk or drive through flood water.”
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- £2.5 million project to prevent flooding at Fountains Abbey
Storm Christoph is beginning to saturate the Harrogate district and beyond.
Five flood warnings and 30 flood alerts are effective in North Yorkshire, where rain is expected to fall until midday Thursday.