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27
Aug 2024
Change of government delays North Yorkshire Local Plan process
The first major stage of consultation for the new North Yorkshire Local Plan has been delayed due to the change of government.
North Yorkshire Council is currently in the process of drawing up a new Local Plan, following the formation of the unitary authority last year, which will set out where new houses and commercial developments can be built in the region over the next 15 to 20 years.
A call for sites to be earmarked for new homes closed in June and the council aims to adopt the new plan by 2028.
But Labour’s ambitious planning reforms have seemingly delayed the process.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government last month announced councils in England would be given new, mandatory housing targets to pave the way to achieve the government’s goal of building 1.5 million homes.
As a result, North Yorkshire Council said the launch of the new government’s consultation on proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework – and other changes to the planning system – mean it is “necessary to take stock” locally.
It is also necessary to understand the implications for the new Local Plan prior to launching the first major stage of consultation – the issues and options consultation – the council added.
The issues and options process is the first stage of public consultation when drawing up a new local plan.
Mark Crane, the council’s executive member for planning policy, told the Stray Ferret:
The government is asking for views on proposed changes to the planning system, and we are looking closely at what is being suggested and how it could affect North Yorkshire.
As a result, this consultation will begin early next year rather than in December of this year.
The plan, which will be the first countywide planning blueprint for North Yorkshire, will look at where homes and jobs are most needed, along with policies to ensure high quality design, as well as giving the necessary protection for our built and natural environment and delivering infrastructure.
However, the council assured that work will continue on “all aspects of the evidence base to support the Local Plan”, despite the short delay.
'Restore mandatory housing targets'
The move comes shortly after Rachel Reeves, the chancellor of the exchequer, said the party had plans to “restore mandatory housing targets”.
Labour’s theory is that setting housebuilding goals for local councils will help to build its pledged 1.5 million new homes over the next five years.
The Stray Ferret reported on this, and how it could affect Harrogate, at the time.
In her first speech as chancellor, Ms Reeves labelled the country's planning system as “antiquated”:
Our antiquated planning system leaves too many important projects getting tied up in years and years of red tape before shovels ever get into the ground.
Rachel Reeves, chancellor of the exchequer.
But the new government's housing agenda was set in stone during the King’s Speech in July, which included the overhaul of the planning system.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government later said the first port of call for development will be brownfield land, adding the “default answer to brownfield development should be ‘yes’”.
At the time the planning reforms were announced, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government added:
Supporting the government’s number one mission to grow the economy across the country, these new targets will flow into the development of local plans. It is through local plans that communities have a say in the building of the homes and infrastructure we need.
Currently just a third of councils have a plan that is under five years old, which is why government will take the tough decisions and step in where needed to drive progress, ensuring local areas get a say on how, but not if, homes are built
To help deliver 1.5 million homes over the next five years, councils will have to review their green belt land if needed to meet their own target, identifying and prioritising ‘grey belt’ land, which the government has today set out a definition for. This includes land on the edge of existing settlements or roads, as well as old petrol stations and car parks.
Where local authorities do not have up-to-date plans in place or enable sufficient housing to come forward to meet local targets, homebuilders can bring forward proposals on grey belt land. In all cases, land that is safeguarded for environmental reasons will continue to be protected.
Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner, last month wrote a letter to all council leaders and chief executives to make clear there is “not just a professional responsibility but a moral obligation to see more homes built”.
Ms Rayner added she would not hesitate to use her powers of intervention should it be necessary – including taking over an authority’s plan-making directly.
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