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21
Jul
How will Labour’s housing targets affect Harrogate?
A matter of days after taking office, the new Labour government set its stall out on housing.
Rachel Reeves, the chancellor of the exchequer, used her first speech in government to lay out plans to “restore mandatory housing targets”.
The theory is that setting housebuilding goals for local councils will help to build 1.5 million new homes over the next five years.
Harrogate will not be immune to this.
The Stray Ferret has covered housing need in the district extensively, including major developments for 1,300 homes at Clotherholme barracks in Ripon and extensive housebuilding plans in the west of Harrogate.
In this article, we look at what the government’s plan involves and whether it is needed in the Harrogate district.
'Antiquated planning system'
On the campaign trail ahead of election day on July 4, Sir Keir Starmer put economic growth at the centre of Labour’s plan for government.
It included reforming the planning system to kickstart a national housebuilding drive.
In her first speech as chancellor, Ms Reeves said:
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.
On Wednesday, the government’s agenda was further set in stone as it included the reforms in the King’s Speech.
The plan includes requiring planning authorities to review greenbelt boundaries to increase housing supply and the recruitment of 300 new planning officers.
Crucially, ministers also intend to consult on reintroducing local housing targets.
Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer. Picture: Lauren Hurley/No 10 Downing Street
No detail has been published on what those targets will be or whether they will be tailored to particular areas.
But, the government is intent on reintroducing them as part of its drive for economic growth.
Should the targets be introduced, North Yorkshire Council would be bound by them.
Local plan
The move comes at a time when the council is currently drawing up one of its key housing strategies.
The authority is putting together its Local Plan, which will set out where new houses can be built in the region over the next 15 to 20 years.
A call for sites to be earmarked for new homes closed last month and the council expects to adopt its plan by 2028.
It means the government policy on introducing housing targets could put further pressure on that plan to deliver.
For some in the district, this may give a certain feeling of deja vu.
The Stray Ferret reported in 2021 that a push to increase housing targets in the Harrogate district led to rampant development with no infrastructure.
We reported concern that councillors felt “forced” into approving major developments to boost housing numbers between 2017 and 2019, including nodding through speculative applications.
This all came at a time when the district's Local Plan was still delayed and had yet to be adopted.
Meanwhile, between 2018 and 2021, government’s Housing Delivery Test revealed the district needed 987 new homes to meet demand – but 2,682 were delivered.
That was 1,641 homes – or 266% – above the target and sparked fresh questions over whether the level of new housing was being matched with improvements in Harrogate’s struggling infrastructure, schools and health services.
After much delay, the Harrogate District Local Plan was adopted in 2020 but not before the Planning Inspectorate ordered the then Harrogate Borough Council to cut its housing targets and drop 24 developments from the local development plan.
The whole saga raises the question over how the new Local Plan will be handled in light of the government’s new planning agenda.
When asked what the new targets would mean for its housing strategy, Cllr Mark Crane, executive councillor for planning at North Yorkshire Council, told the Stray Ferret:
The council has a clear ambition to meet local housing need, including more affordable homes.
We welcome the introduction of policies that support this, and we will work to ensure that the new Local Plan for North Yorkshire is prepared in accordance with any changes that are introduced.
The targets may also increase pressure of local councillors on decision making bodies, such as Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency planning committee.
Cllr Richard Clewer, planning spokesperson for the County Councils Network, which represents upper tier authorities, warned that such a move towards targets cannot replace local decision making.
He said:
We await to see further details on housebuilding plans in the forthcoming revised National Planning Policy Framework, but national targets cannot be an effective substitute for local decision making.
County and rural areas have overseen the building of 600,000 homes in the last five years, more than the rest of the country combined. With housing delivery lower in England’s urban areas, housing targets should not be overwhelmingly allocated, or re-allocated, to county and rural areas. Instead, there should be a fair distribution of housing across England.
'Discredited and wholly ineffective policy'
In Harrogate, residents have had their own battles with major housing schemes.
A long-running saga over 53 new homes on Knox Lane has resulted in a public inquiry being held next week, where campaigners are set to defend the council’s decision to refuse the plan themselves.
This week, Knox Lane campaigners also displayed protest art ahead of the crunch hearing that will decide the scheme’s fate.
Protest art has appeared on Knox Lane.
Meanwhile, on Kingsley Road, 600 new homes are at various stages of development much to the anger of local residents.
The sight of new housing taking shape in Harrogate is nothing new and local targets may see more shovels hitting the ground around the district for new homes.
But, Dr Quintin Bradley, a senior lecturer in planning and housing at Leeds Beckett University, told the Stray Ferret that targets for housing is not what Harrogate needs.
He said:
Harrogate has the most expensive housing in Yorkshire. What Harrogate needs is really affordable housing.
The most sensible government policy would be to allow local planning authorities to prioritise land just for affordable housing and to return affordable grant rates to cover 50% of build costs allowing local authorities and not-for-profit associations to build the homes we need.
Dr Bradley added that housing targets make no distinction between demand and need, which leads to no priority for affordable homes.
He said:
This new government is continuing with the discredited and wholly ineffective policy of previous governments believing against all evidence that an increase in the number of full price homes built will make housing affordable.
The housing requirement targets set for local planning authorities are factored on the assumption that if enough land is allocated for housebuilding, and enough homes are built, then all homes will become affordable.
This magical thinking means that there is no priority to build really affordable homes because we’re meant to just wait and see those house prices come tumbling down. Housing requirement targets make no distinction between demand and need or the fact that those who have enough capital can buy as much as they like while those who can't pay get nothing.
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