Exclusive: Families stranded as home targets fall short

As part of an investigation into the state of the region’s housing market, the Yorkshire Post has revealed the scant number of affordable homes being built is leaving a growing backlog of thousands of families stranded in overcrowded homes every year.

In North Yorkshire, where soaring house prices have placed it at the sharp end of the country’s affordable homes crisis, only 377 affordable dwellings have been built in the first six months of the last financial year despite an annual need of 2,808 over the next five years.

Meanwhile, East Riding Council calculates just 69 affordable homes – classed as houses below market cost available for rent or sale – have been built over the same period despite a requirement of 1,008 a year up to 2016.

The growing shortfall is having the greatest impact upon young families in rural areas, with affordable homes targets needing to be revised on the North York Moors and a Government inspector soon to decide on whether to overhaul a planning strategy for the Yorkshire Dales to permit converting decaying farm buildings into cheap homes.

But the new figures show the failure to meet affordable housing need has also spread to Yorkshire’s major cities where families are now being forced to live together in unsuitable overcrowded homes on a scale experts say has not seen for more than 50 years.

Sheffield Council says 165 affordable homes were built last year despite an annual need of 729. In York, 108 affordable homes have been built in the first two quarters of this year despite an annual need of 790.

The Yorkshire Post revealed on Saturday developers were eyeing up new green-field sites while refusing to build on land where planning permission for nearly 30,000 homes has been granted.

Our investigation has also found that the vast majority of the recent affordable home completions have been with public subsidies which are quickly drying up.

Colin Dales, assistant director of Hambleton and Richmondshire District Councils, said tensions are now rising between local authorities and developers over the lack of affordable homes being provided by the private sector.

“In the foreseeable future it is very unlikely that we will ever be able to meet the total number of affordable homes our communities require,” he said. “It is a source of worry for me because we have always forecasted more affordable homes being provided through the planning system but the worry is now the whole economy has slowed down.

“The number of people needing affordable homes now far outstrips the numbers being provided. My personal view is it could still get worse.”

Anne McIntosh, the Tory MP for Thirsk, Malton and Filey, said a culture of Nimbyism over developments in rural areas is also worsening the problem.

“Developers make their profit with bigger houses but we have to put pressure on them to provide affordable homes to meet local need,” she said.

“There is also a problem of persuading people to have these homes built in their villages. We cannot change people’s opinions and behaviour, we can only educate them about the need.

“We need young people to be able to afford to stay in rural areas – they are the future.”