Exclusive:Yorkshire mayors handed powers and funding to build affordable homes

Housing Secretary Steve Reed told The Yorkshire Post: “Whitehall will stop telling Yorkshire what's good for local people, because we’re now saying to local leaders they can shape spending on new affordable and social homes based on what their communities need.”

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has said that at least 60 per cent of the homes should be made for social rent.

It also wants local authorities to build thousands of new council homes.

The funding is part of a 10-year programme, which will see West Yorkshire get £1bn and South Yorkshire £700,000.

Mr Reed said this was “real money, real homes and real hope for thousands of families who've been priced out and left behind”.

“The housing crisis has robbed Yorkshire families of security, dignity, and hope,” he said.

“Young people unable to leave home, families stuck in unsuitable housing, communities hollowed out.

“That ends today. Working with housing associations, councils, and mayors, we'll deliver homes that serve our communities for generations.”

West Yorkshire Mayor Ms Brabin said: “With council house waiting lists and private rents at breaking point, addressing the housing crisis is the most fundamental step our government could take to build a brighter Britain.

“This is a welcome first step towards the full devolution of affordable homes funding.”

Mr Coppard commented: “This money from Government is game-changing for us; giving us the opportunity to clear hundreds of derelict sites and build thousands of homes.”

The announcement comes after concerns over affordable housing targets and the Government’s ability to meet its 1.5 million new homes target were raised by the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee last month.

A committee report said the delay in publishing a long-term housing strategy “left industry in the dark, without a clear sense of the trajectory of housing supply, and without an overarching plan as to how such an ambitious target will be achieved”.

Since coming into office in September, Mr Reed has hosted a summit of major housing providers and urged them to “go big, go bold, and go build”.

Today, he also announced an £150m package that has also been allocated to mayors to fund the development of brownfield sites, with the aim of building more than 4,000 new homes.

Mr Reed said this would transform “derelict” sites and turn eyesores into thriving communities”.

This includes £7m for 300 homes in York and North Yorkshire, which Mayor David Skaith said will go towards pushing through stalled housing projects which already have planning permission.

Mr Skaith told this paper: “Fundamentally we have a housing crisis in York and North Yorkshire, and this country.

“It’s incredibly important that we get that money into communities like ours, so we can go and deliver that housing.

“We are really looking forward to deliver those affordable homes, which in regions like ours is really difficult because of the land value and affordability gap.

“We’re looking at the larger, strategic developments, but also those three or four home sites in some of our smaller villages and communities are really vital as well.”