Ripon Cathedral to challenge housing and farming policies in 2023

The Dean of Ripon Cathedral has vowed that leaders at the church will continue to speak up and challenge where needed as 2023 dawns.

The Very Rev John Dobson DL said it was clear that “there are elements of public policy and government policy which are missing the point” when it comes to dealing with affordable housing in North Yorkshire and also that he was in a position to say “policies are detrimental” when it comes to issues of food sustainability in the region.

It is five years since the Ripon Cathedral Rural Forum (RCRF) was established and has been proven to be influential when it comes to priority topics for North Yorkshire such as housing, education, transport, biodiversity and climate change.

The forum brings together representatives from organisations such as North Yorkshire County Council, the NFU, the national parks, Yorkshire Water, Country Land and Business Association as well as landowners and businesses.

Looking ahead to 2023, Dean John said the forum will be taking a specific interest in affordable housing in rural North Yorkshire and how to make the region more sustainable when it comes to food production.

A previous panel held by the forum had debated changes to farming payments, international relations, trade agreements, cost of living and inflation which were all causing anxiety.

Dean John said: "All of this has come out of seminars that we have had and become such a strong theme it is worth looking at in itself to help us understand more fully but to help the region to respond to the reality of the day.

"It is obvious it is a growing issue for people involved in agriculture. If there is something about government policy, a way in which the supermarkets are working – if there is something that needs to be said or challenged, that, we will do. The rural forum can say that policies are detrimental.”

Dean John has voiced concerns about housing policies or legislation which are actually exacerbating problems for younger people in rural communities trying to set up homes and lifestyles there, such as new rules affecting private landlords and the question of ‘affordable housing’ with developers saying charging 80 per cent of the market value for houses makes them affordable.

"It is clear there are elements of policy which are just missing the point and resulting in fewer properties for people in rural areas that are affordable”, the Dean said.

"For the people that we are talking about that need homes in rural areas such as health care workers and teachers, they still can’t afford 80 per cent of that.

"The concept of affordable housing should relate to average income in the area, not market value.”

Discussions are still on-going between the forum and planners in North Yorkshire about the forum’s recommendation that five homes should be built in every civil parish in the next ten years rather than larger, concentrated developments.

The Dean added: "We were surprised by the positive response and are working to see if we can develop a pilot project.”