OPPOSITION politicians fear that Labour’s planning reforms, which promise to deliver 300,000 homes a year, will harm the Green Belt and lead to more housing in rural areas.

Their comments follow Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves announcing a set of measures aimed at boosting housing supply.

Measures included mandatory housebuilding targets, 300 extra planning officers for councils, a task force to accelerate stalled housing sites, reviewing refused planning applications that could help the economy; and prioritising brownfield and ‘greybelt’ land to meet housing targets.

However, Thirsk and Malton MP Kevin Hollinrake says whilst he is “very keen” to see extra homes built, the changes contain ‘significant reforms.”

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He fears new powers on strategic planning given to mayoral authorities will see them “whack these homes in the easy bits, which is North Yorkshire.”

The Conservative MP and former business minister says more housing should go on brownfield sites.

He added: “York is a basket case and has had no local plan for 60 years. York will offload its housing delivery into rural North Yorkshire. I am very concerned about concreting over the Green Belt with the urban areas kicking the housing into rural areas.”

Chris Steward, leader of the Conservative group on City of York Council, welcomes to extra housing planned, but believes mandatory levels are not needed as the city’s Local Plan has a “realistic” target.

He added: “Whilst we need more homes across the country there are some areas where more should be built than others and locally we need to protect our Greenbelt. In the election campaign Keir Starmer said in a TV interview that he would happily upset local people to get Labour’s planning changes through and this will be a concern for many.”

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Councillor Andrew Hollyer, York Liberal Democrat Councillor for Haxby and Wigginton agreed: “We are concerned that relaxing planning rules will mean that more and more homes will be built on York’s greenbelt without the appropriate infrastructure, services like GP surgeries and dentists, and open space available.

“We hope that York Labour live up to their promise of no-new building on the greenbelt beyond what is outlined in the Local Plan.

“The government can’t simply railroad over local opinion to deliver the houses York needs, development is best done with a community first approach that creates a sustainable communities for our residents.”

Not surprisingly, Labour politicians back their Chancellor, believing such measures will help address the housing crisis.

York Central’s Rachael Maskell said: “While Labour will focus on building on brownfield sites and the grey belt, we will also tackle housing injustice with more rights for renters, improving the standard of housing, allowing leaseholders more say through commonhold and we will reform our planning rules.”

Newly-elected York Outer MP Luke Charters says the proposals will help end the chronic housing shortage and help renters get on the housing ladder, himself included.

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He said: “I recently welcomed Prime Minister Keir Starmer to Germany Beck, a new-build estate in Fulford, for which it took the best part of a decade to get planning permission. We need to shorten those planning times and build more houses, so people across York have access to affordable housing faster.

“We will take a strategic approach to greenbelt land designation and release to build more homes in the right places. This release of lower quality ‘grey belt’ land will be prioritised and we will introduce ‘golden rules’ to ensure development benefits communities and nature.”

 

Cllr Michael Pavlovic, City of York Council’s Executive Member for Housing and Safer Communities welcomed the return to mandatory housing targets, adding the new Local Plan will help ensure they are met.  

He added: “Following a successful roundtable discussion with developers, stakeholders and the Chamber of Commerce, we are all working collaboratively to speed up and streamline the planning process to further kickstart York’s amazing potential and meet the needs of our residents”.

The building sector is also supportive.

Matt Gibson, Land and Planning Director at Knaresborough-based housebuilder Wharfedale Homes, called the changes from the new government “very encouraging.”

He added: “We hope that that the coming months, and further details about a more resourced and positive planning system, will help the industry to build the homes that we need in the right locations, across the UK.

“To have real impact on the housing situation, a long-term view of skills, planning and delivery will need to be taken.”

York-headquartered Persimmon Homes declined to comment.