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13
Dec
Government housing plans 'a war on rural England', claims North Yorkshire MP
A North Yorkshire MP has warned that the county could face a massive hike in housing targets which will be unachievable and claimed the government is "pursuing a war" on rural areas.
The Labour government has set a goal to build 1.5 million houses over the next five years.
The drive to build more homes is expected to see new housing targets implemented on local councils.
The Stray Ferret previously reported that the government’s proposal could see North Yorkshire’s housing need increase to 4,232 a year — it had previously been 1,361.
Kevin Hollinrake, Conservative MP for Thirsk and Malton, told a debate in the House of Commons yesterday (December 12) that the government "will fail” on its 1.5 million target.
Mr Hollinrake, who is also shadow secretary of state for housing, said:
What we do not welcome is the war on rural England that the minister is pursuing. Following on from the family farm tax and the withdrawal of the rural services delivery grant, we now see a massive shift to mass house building in rural areas and on green belt. We do not welcome the bulldozing of democratic accountability. We do not welcome the lowering of housing targets for urban areas, including a 20% reduction in London, which is already missing its targets by 50%. We also do not welcome an average doubling—a 100% increase—for predominantly rural areas.
The reality for local residents in areas such as Westmorland, Cumberland, North Yorkshire and the home counties is that they will one day wake up to realise that they will face targets of up to 600% increases.
Matthew Pennycook, Labour’s minister of state for housing, said it was “simply wrong” that the government was “waging war” on rural areas.
He said:
There were so many inaccuracies and misleading statements in that response, and a fundamental misunderstanding of the framework that we have planned, that I am not sure where to start. The assertion that we are waging war on rural England or that we have distributed housing targets predominantly towards rural areas is simply wrong.
Local concern
The move comes as North Yorkshire Council has already expressed concern over the government’s proposal.
As previously reported, Cllr Mark Crane, Conservative executive councillor for open to business at the council, said he met with a government housing minister about the plans in November.
Cllr Crane said he met with Baroness Taylor of Stevenage to raise his concerns over the planned targets. However, he told councillors it “wasn’t a positive meeting”.
He told a council meeting:
I will be honest with members and say I think my missive fell on stoney ground and I am not anticipating the government changing those figures.
Cllr Mark Crane, executive councillor for open to business.
The concerns come as the government has revealed sweeping planning reforms at a time when the council is set to draw up a new Local Plan.
The Stray Ferret has reported extensively on the issue of housebuilding in the Harrogate district, including an analysis on what Labour's drive for housing targets will mean for the district.
As part of its consultation on a new National Planning Policy Framework, ministers proposed changing the standard method for calculating housing need.
The method is used to measure how many homes need to be built in an area in a year. Following a change in the algorithm, the government now wants to see 370,000 homes built annually — a rise from 300,000 under the previous system.
As a result, the proposed housing need for North Yorkshire has increased dramatically.
Angela Rayner, Labour deputy prime minister, has been tasked with leading the government’s housebuilding agenda.
In her first two months in office, Ms Rayner unveiled a plan which included setting a national target to build 1.5 million homes over the next five years.
She went as far as writing to every council leader and chief executive in the country to tell them it was “not just a professional responsibility but a moral obligation to see more homes built”.
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