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16
Nov
‘They’ve opened the floodgates’: Are Labour's housing targets starting to bite in North Yorkshire?
Has Labour’s dramatic housing target hike taken the first step towards tackling the housing crisis in North Yorkshire or opened the floodgates for speculative development?
When the target was introduced last year, former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said the reforms were designed to “correct the errors of the past”.
But, fast forward 12 months and the combination of the 4,156 homes a year target in North Yorkshire and the lack of a five-year land supply has created fears of a free-for-all for developers.
While officials at County Hall struggle to come to terms with the government-imposed target, some residents are beginning to fear the worst.
Floodgates opened
In October, Steve Cove and other residents in villages near Boroughbridge launched a campaign against new housing in the town and surrounding villages.
It was called Protect Our Village and was aimed at three housing schemes near Langthorpe and Kirby Hill, which would see 487 homes built.
The fear among politicians and residents is that areas such as Boroughbridge may become the target for “speculative” developments as North Yorkshire Council cannot demonstrate a five-year land supply.
Villagers pictured in the one of the fields earmarked for housing near Boroughbridge.
Council officials are currently drawing up a North Yorkshire Local Plan — which will designate land for development over the next 20 years.
But, the plan's slow progress has not allayed the fears of residents who feel developers almost have an open door.
Mr Cove told the Stray Ferret that the government’s housebuilding agenda combined with the fresh targets have also “reduced the weight" given to the previous Harrogate Local Plan 2014-2035.
He added:
This plus the timetable changes to implementing the new North Yorkshire Plan have opened the floodgates for speculative applications. Many are on high quality agricultural land, offered by land owners seeking to boost cashflow, and are around rural village communities reflecting no agreed or even discussed settlement growth patterns, like those at Kirby Hill.
The target takes no account of the two major national parks in North Yorkshire, where many restrictions are rightly in place, and so cannot contribute equally to the target.
The existing rural communities that developers say they want to ‘enhance’ are ignored by planners and developers who pay lip service to requirements. They know that they have the backstop of an appeal to the Secretary of State, and focus on the lack of a five-year supply caused by the imposed new target, and where the infantile language of ‘build baby, build’ and ‘beat the blockers’ seems to be all that matters.
‘I share their concern’
The fear over speculative schemes is echoed by local politicians, such as Cllr Chris Aldred, Mayor of Harrogate, who said the town was braced for “open season” from housing developers.
He echoed comments made in October by Cllr Michael Harrison, a Conservative who represents Killinghall, Hampsthwaite and Saltergate on North Yorkshire Council. Cllr Harrison said the government’s housing targets had opened the door to speculative developments in places like Killinghall by making it hard for councils ro reject them.
The village has seen four major housing developments proposed since June, including 130 homes off Otley Road and 75 homes on land on Picking Croft Lane, although only one formal application has been submitted so far.
In a letter to residents, Cllr Harrison said:
I’m concerned that such a large increase in the council’s housing target is unrealistic without infrastructure improvements and new job opportunities.
Worryingly, because this new target has been imposed without any notice, the government has also declared the existing housing plan to be out of date, therefore making it harder to resist speculative development.
Cllr Carl Les, leader of North Yorkshire Council, pictured in January 2024.
The concern over speculative schemes is not lost on the leadership at North Yorkshire Council.
Cllr Carl Les, the Conservative leader of the authority, told the Stray Ferret:
I share some of the concerns of residents. Any landowner can put forward a speculative development, and it will be judged on its merits against any local plan and policy in place, if there is one, and if there is a (five-year) supply of sites in place.
Cllr Les added that the Local Plan had to follow a timetable to be legally sound.
More than 1,800 sites have been submitted for the council’s 20-year housing plan, according to officials.
The council itself has also submitted 47 of its own sites, which it believes will be able to help contribute to the 4,156 a year target.
Cllr Les added that the authority had already tried to lobby government over reducing its targets amid concern over speculative schemes.
He said:
The new council local plan has to follow legal procedures and timescales, including extensive consultation, or else it will be found to be unsound by an inspector. We lobbied government to reduce our targets without success.
Until a new Local Plan is in place — and there appears little prospect of it anytime soon — concerns are likely to linger.
The Stray Ferret has published a series of articles investigating how residents in the Harrogate district are being shortchanged by the planning system.
Thousands of homes have been built locally in recent years — but what has happened to pledges of new schools, roads and health centres to compensate for their impact?
You can read the first in our series of case studies here and an explainer on section 106 agreements here. Visit our website for more coverage.
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