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22
Feb 2022
Harrogate council exceeds house-building targets by almost 1,700 homes
Harrogate Borough Council has exceeded its house-building target by almost 1,700 homes over the last three years, according to new government figures.
Statistics released in the government’s Housing Delivery Test reveal the district needed 987 new homes to meet demand between 2018 and 2021 – but 2,682 were delivered.
That is 1,641 homes – or 266% – above the target and has sparked fresh questions over whether this level of new housing is being matched with improvements in Harrogate’s struggling infrastructure, schools and health services.
A Harrogate Borough Council spokesperson argued the government figures are only a minimum target and that its own ambitions in its Harrogate district Local Plan take greater account of the desperate need for more affordable housing.
They also described the current level of house-building as a “positive step” to tackle this problem.
The spokesperson said:
It was six years in the making but the Local Plan was finally adopted in 2020 when Harrogate set its own target of delivering 637 new homes each year until 2035.
And while there was some controversy over which sites were allocated for development, local politicians of all stripes agreed it was better to have a plan, than no plan at all.
Housing 'free for all'
Cllr Pat Marsh, leader of the council’s opposition Liberal Democrat group, described the six years prior to the Local Plan’s adoption as a “free for all” of uncontrolled house-building.
She also said while the Local Plan has handed Harrogate greater control over its housing future, it had yet to be matched with meaningful improvements for communities which will feel the long-term effects of dramatic population growth.
Cllr Marsh
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Parameters plan approved
Defending its record, the council also pointed towards the West Harrogate Parameters Plan – which sets out the needs for an extra 4,000 homes – as a measure to ensure the area has the “necessary infrastructure to support future communities”.
The plan has been recommended for approval at a meeting today and while it has been praised by the council, those living in the area have complained it does not go far enough and is being approved too soon to balance the impacts of what will be Harrogate’s biggest urban expansion in decades.
David Siddans, secretary of Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents Association, said:
Mr Siddans added:
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