Yorkshire Dales chief defends '˜realistic' house building target

Carl Lis said he wished more homes could be built to satisfy the shortage of affordable homes for local people, but that the figure agreed unanimously by authority members is “realistic”.

Both Richmondshire District Council and the Home Builders Federation have criticised the target for being too low, but it has now been submitted to the Department for Communities and Local Government as part of the Local Plan for the Yorkshire Dales.

The lengthy document sets out the park authority’s planning strategy for new development in the park until 2030, and after two years of preparatory work, it was formally submitted to the Secretary of State for approval today.

Mr Lis, who is also the Authority’s member champion for sustainable development, said there is a myriad of factors affecting the delivery of much-needed homes.

“Some local housing authorities and district councils feel we should do more and I would like us to build more but we have set what we believe to be realistic targets.

“We have identified some areas of land to put forward as suitable housing sites, that’s one thing, it is another getting a developer to do it and the landowner to put their land on the market. There is a tendency to be reluctant until land values go up.

“We also have an issue where housing associations aren’t keen because of the big push from government for shared equity, and we have some grave concerns about the policies at the moment for selling off some affordable homes.”

To fund an extended Right to Buy initiative for housing association tenants, the Government is using its Housing and Planning Bill to force councils to sell off a third of their most valuable properties as they become vacant.

Despite these challenges, Matthew Good, planning manager at the Home Builders Federation, said: “The HBF accepts that because it is a national park the authority may not be able to meet its housing needs in full. However, the target must reflect the acute need for housing within the park and the authorities expressed desire to retain young people in its communities. They must be satisfied that they have explored every avenue to help try and find additional land that will close the gap between need and supply.”

Some 51 objections have been submitted to the Local Plan, comprising of 178 individual representations. Aside from housing, most objections concern a new policy on crushed rock quarrying and flexibilities for visitor accommodation to improve the capacity for visitors to stay in the park overnight and boost the economy through tourism.

The plan will now be examined and an independent inspector will chair a series of public roundtable hearings in spring with objectors and officers of the Authority. The inspector will then write a report which the Authority expects will be published during the summer.

Mr Lis said: “In undertaking such a comprehensive review of policy and changing our direction in some key areas, we will face some new risks. The purpose of the examination, however, is to explore these, and I am confident we are heading in the right direction.

“In fact, we are confident enough to have already started using the new Local Plan to permit roadside barn conversions and support other forms of beneficial development.”