Eviction threat hangs over the heads of thousands of Yorkshire families

On average, 46 households were at risk of eviction every day over the last 12 months.

Figures from the respected housing campaign group Shelter suggest landlords or mortgage lenders have lodged more than 16,000 possession claims which, if granted, would give them the right to remove the residents.

One in 58 rented or mortgaged homes in North-East Lincolnshire were at risk of repossession at some point in the last year with North Lincolnshire, Hull and Sheffield among the other parts of the region seeing the highest rates.

Craven, Richmondshire, York and Harrogate were the areas where the fewest possession orders were requested.

Shelter’s chief executive Campbell Robb said: “46 households at risk of losing their home every day is 46 too many.

“Each one of these will have had their lives turned upside down by this experience, as they faced seeing their home, the foundation of their life, ripped away from underneath them.

“Tragically we are seeing more and more people coming to us for help, people who have been struggling to make ends meet and then just one change of circumstances has pushed them spiralling towards homelessness.”

According to the Shelter figures, one in 71 households in Barnsley was at risk of eviction or repossession in the last 12 months.

Barnsley Council yesterday set out its proposals for housing for the next 20 years which includes the aim of adding 24,000 new homes in the district.

Building 200 affordable homes a year and increasing the supply of private rented homes by a quarter is also part of the strategy.

In addition, the authority wants to see some 300 empty houses brought back into use.

The strategy says a new approach to housing in the district is needed with the population set to rise by around 17,000 in the next seven years alone with significant increases in the number of older people living in Barnsley.

The number of homes in Barnsley is currently increasing by less than one per cent a year.

The document published yesterday warns that currently not enough land has been earmarked for new housing and there will be “hard choices” to be made about where homes are built.

The council said it would “review” some of the existing green belt which makes up 77 per cent of land in the district.

The authority also believes the area needs a wider mix of housing with a shortage of detached, semi-detached and bungalow properties.

Coun Roy Miller, Barnsley Council cabinet spokesman for place, said: “The longer-term housing needs and economic aspirations of the council are based on the forthcoming Local Plan.

“Our aim will be to increase the supply and choice of housing sites so that a five-year supply of ready to develop sites can be maintained throughout the period covered by the Local Plan.”

The council said it would now draw up a serious of four year plans to deliver its housing ambitious between now and 2033.

It will prioritise the economic regeneration of the Dearne and Goldthorpe areas with plans for 2,000 new homes and a new school.

And it will look at ways of improving standards in the private rented sector which is expected to make up more than a quarter of homes by the end of the strategy.