House-building target raised in bid to boost economic growth

The move to instigate a more ambitious construction programme in York is being overseen by the city council’s new Labour administration, and aims to build 16,000 new properties over the next two decades.

Efforts are being intensified to boost enterprise – York Council’s leader James Alexander announced the city’s first annual business conference will be held in October.

An annual target for an average of 800 homes to be built is being put in place, a big increase on the previous level of 575 properties drawn up by the Liberal Democrats, who lost power in the May elections.

The new Cabinet member for city strategy, Coun Dave Merrett, stressed the increase was vital to boost the city’s economy to counter the effects of the recession.

He also claimed that the extra housing was necessary to ensure the city’s residents are not priced out of the market.

Latest figures from the National Housing Federation have revealed that the average cost of a property in York is £191,000, while the average income is only £20,500.

Coun Merrett said: “There is a very real need for affordable housing in York, and the new targets are aimed at ensuring that there is adequate provision to help move the city’s economy forward.

“We will simply not be able to attract new business if there is not enough housing for workers.

“We also want to make sure that the city’s existing residents are able to afford a decent standard of housing and are not priced out of the property market.”

The Yorkshire Post revealed in March that business leaders had accused Liberal Democrat councillors of jeopardising the economy after dramatically scaling back the house-building targets.

The York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, which was established 150 years ago and has 1,200 members across the county, maintained the house-building rates needed to increase significantly to support economic and population growth.

Senior Liberal Democrats had decided to push ahead with the revised target under the Local Development Framework despite advice from independent planning consultants that between 780 and 800 homes should be built each year.

The Liberal Democrats defended their decision for the lower house-building targets, which they claimed was necessary to conserve the city’s character and the surrounding Green Belt.

Coun Merrett admitted that there would be “limited urban extension” into the land surrounding the city to cope with the scale of development.

But he stressed that existing brownfield sites would be used first, and the house-building targets included major developments which had already been given the go-ahead.

These sites include the re-development of the former Terry’s chocolate factory and the city’s Derwenthorpe scheme, as well as the long-awaited York Central project.

The massive York Central development is earmarked for one of the biggest brownfield sites in the country centred around the city’s railway station, but the proposals stalled during the recession.

Coun Merrett also conceded that the more ambitious house-building targets may not be met in the next few years due to economic gloom.

The construction industry is still reeling from the aftershock of the recession, and there is little hope of an upsurge in the property market as prospective buyers continue to face huge challenges in securing a mortgage.

The council’s Cabinet is due to meet on Tuesday next week to approve the revised house-building targets before the proposals go before a full council meeting on June 30.