York could get its Local Plan for development approved by Christmas but hundreds more homes than planned may have to be built under proposals for mandatory targets, councillors have heard.
Councillors were told that at least 1,251 homes a year would have to built if the Government presses ahead with plans for targets, compared to 822-a-year proposed in the draft Local Plan.
Liberal Democrat Cllr Nigel Ayre said it could create a development free-for-all while Labour’s Cllr Kate Ravilious said targets should take the scale of developments and the environment into account.
It comes as Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayer said imposing targets would help to tackle the national housing crisis when she unveiled them and proposals to overhaul the planning system.
Labour’s Ms Rayner added in July that they aimed to support the Government’s aim to build 1.5 million new homes in the next five years.
Councillors heard that local authorities would be expected to take immediate action to start working towards the targets which are subject to an ongoing consultation.
The proposed target for York is a minimum of 1,251 homes a year.
It compares to 1,020 using the current method of calculating requirements which the council reduced to 822 in the draft Local Plan.
But Government proposals would require councils to have an additional five per cent buffer on housing land supply, taking York’s target to 1,314.
And the reforms would see councils penalised for failing to achieve targets by being ordered to build 20 per cent more homes, putting the possible total as high as 1,501.
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Councillors were told local authorities would not be able to carry over homes built over their targets to count towards the following year’s total.
The balance would also be tilted towards approving new housing developments provided they are deemed sustainable.
Development would be directed towards brownfield land in the first instance, then undeveloped ‘green field’ sites followed by those inside the green belt.
Housing built on greenbelt sites would have to meet new golden rules including 50 per cent of homes being affordable and developments also improving infrastructure.
Plans would also be drawn up and decisions on applications taken with so-called greybelt land in mind.
That is classed as land that has either been previously developed or that makes a limited contribution to the wider objectives of the protected land around it.
Councillors heard the requirement for 10 per cent of affordable homes on sites was being replaced by 25 per cent of ones set aside for discounted sale to first-time buyers.
They also heard references to beauty would be removed from design guidelines and replaced with ones on developments being well-built on the grounds that the former is considered too subjective.
Meanwhile, York’s draft Local Plan could be approved by the end of the year but its housing figures may have to be revisited in light of Government proposals.
The Local Plan sets out the council’s overall vision for development, allocates sites and defines its greenbelt.
York has not had a Local Plan since the 1950s.
Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Ayre said at the Local Plan Working Group on Tuesday, September 10 that mandatory targets could put an end to the controlled, planned expansion of York.
The opposition group leader said: “One of the dangers is that because we’re light years away from 1,500 homes a year there’s a risk of a free-for-all.”
Ruling Labour’s Cllr Ravilious said any development taking place in the green belt or on grey belt sites should be self-sustaining.
The executive member said: “Developments should be large enough to support a community rather than being scattered all over the place.”
Deputy Prime Minister Ms Rayner said in July that councils had not just a professional responsibility but a moral obligation to ensure that enough new homes are built.
Ms Rayner said: “Our decisive reforms to the planning system correct the errors of the past and set us on our way to tackling the housing crisis.
“Our new flexibilities for councils will boost the number of social and affordable homes and give working families a better route to a secure home.”
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