Houses needed in Yorkshire property hotspot

Property consultancy Savills said demand for homes was increasing pressure to build on green belt and greenfield land in the area which takes in York, Leeds and Harrogate.

Its research suggests 150,000 houses will be needed to ensure property remains affordable.

Recent figures show the average house price in the golden triangle is eight times the typical salary.

Rob Moore, from Savills Planning in Leeds, said: “At this present time, local authorities in the golden triangle appear to have 45,000 new homes due to be built over the next five years.

“However this figure is yet to be tested through independent examination and the key will be to identify enough long term opportunities to ensure that this rolling supply is maintained over the next 18 to 20 years.”

Councils across the region are reviewing their local plans to meet Government rules that they should have enough land earmarked for five years of housing development.

The reviews have proved highly contentious with Sheffield, Kirklees and York among those seing the fiercest debates over how many homes are needed and where they should be built.

York Council has set out proposals for 20,000 homes over the next 15 years.

Council leader James Alexander said: “This report from Savills highlights what we’ve known for some time, that demand for housing in York continues to outstrip supply.

“The UK housing market is broken and people in cities such as York are being priced out of their own city.

“The lack of significant numbers of new homes being built, exacerbated by student housing becoming more lucrative for landlords, means the price of homes to both rent and buy has grown astronomically.”

New figures from mortgage lender Nationwide show the gap between property prices in London and the rest of the country is at its highest ever level.

House prices in the capital rose by more than 18 per cent in the last year compared to 6.3 per cent in Yorkshire.

The average house price in Yorkshire is now £139,775 although that figures has remained unchanged in the first three months of the year.

Among Yorkshire’s cities, Bradford has seen the biggest annual rise at seven per cent. York has the highest average house price at £222,865.

Rising prices have been welcomed by Housing Minister Kris Hopkins.

Pressed in a BBC interview whether rises were positive he said: “I think yeah. I bought a house and I expect the value to rise, and I’m sure you did as well.”

Mr Hopkins, the Keighley MP, said rises were “certainly part of the market”, but stressed that prices were still well below the pre-credit crunch highs.