Block on garden grabbing 'will add to housing land shortage'

Ministers announced measures this summer to prevent the trend of so-called "garden grabbing". They have been widely welcomed by local communities who faced the prospect of the green spaces being eaten away to meet housing targets.

Gardens have now been taken out of the brownfield category and re-classified as greenfield sites to make it easier for local planning authorities to block applications for developments.

However, planning experts have warned that the moves to block garden grabbing could lead to escalating pressures to find land for development in North Yorkshire, which already has some of the highest house prices in the region.

Sites for housing schemes in the county are already limited as vast tracts of North Yorkshire fall within the national parks for the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors as well as the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Planning expert Kathryn Jukes, who works in the Leeds offices of the international real estate adviser Savills, said: "The Government has made the decision to implement the measures to prevent garden grabbing, which has been welcomed in many quarters.

"The Government's policies are giving local authorities more responsibilities, which means that they are in control of their own destinies.

"But the issue remains as to where houses will have to be built, and local planning authorities will be left with some tough decisions. They will have to decide whether houses will be built on gardens or other greenfield sites on the outskirts of towns and villages."

Figures compiled by Savills have revealed that more than 40 per cent of housing in the Harrogate area is expected to come from garden sites over the next five years if the previous government's targets are to be met.

Planning permission has already been granted for nearly 800 dwellings to be built on garden land to meet the target of 1,950 properties set under the regional spatial strategy for the Harrogate district.

In Hambleton, almost 400 dwellings are due to be built on garden land, equating to nearly 30 per cent of the properties designated for the district over the next five years under the regional spatial strategy.

But planning authorities in North Yorkshire appear to be taking a tough stance on garden grabbing developments in the wake of the Government's policy overhaul.

Ryedale District Council's planning committee used the guidelines earlier this month when it blocked proposals for a pair of detached three-bedroom houses on land at the rear of a home on Middlecave Road in Malton.

The plans had provoked widespread opposition from residents living nearby, with a petition launched that collected 60 signatures.

The Government's changes to planning policies which were announced in June also mean that fewer properties have to be built per hectare – reducing the need to cram in "high density" homes, which critics have claimed has had a negative impact on communities.

Miss Jukes added: "In the medium term, the reclassification of gardens will lead to a slow down of the rate at which gardens are put forward for development.

"The number of planning permissions being granted will also decrease, especially where there is local opposition.

"Gardens, however, do still represent a good source of land supply for development, so the trend is unlikely to stop altogether."