Councillors have called for more powers over holiday lets, Right To Buy terms and to make developers use or lose planning permission as the Government looks to reform the system.

The call made by York councillors stated the powers would help stop homes being lost as the Government aims to build 1.5m houses in the next five years.

City of York Council’s Labour housing spokesperson Cllr Michael Pavlovic said the call for ‘use-it-or-lose-it’ powers came as around 9,000 homes with planning permission remain unbuilt locally.

But Liberal Democrat opposition leader Cllr Nigel Ayre said Government proposals for mandatory house building targets would not work and the reforms threatened to rip up green belt protections.

It follows a consultation with councils, developers and the public on proposals to reform national planning policy which ended on Tuesday, September 24.

The Government is now set to review the responses and it is expected to implement reforms by the end of the year.

Plans to change the planning system were unveiled following Labour’s election victory in July and Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said they were designed to tackle a national housing crisis.

The motion passed by councillors on Thursday, September 19 calls for the reforms to include powers for local authorities to control second homes and short-term lets such as holiday accommodation.

Cllr Nigel AyreCllr Nigel Ayre

The council’s response to the national consultation also stated that more needed to be done to make developers follow through with house building once they get planning permission.

The motion called for councils to get ‘use-it-or-lose-it’ powers to compel developers to build and to stop them sitting on sites with planning permission.

It also called on the council to back yearly house building targets, including for affordable homes.

Council housing spokesperson Cllr Pavlovic said he would welcome councils getting new powers over housing, adding it was also time to look at Right To Buy.

The Labour executive member said: “We also need to look at restricting short-term holiday lets which are taking homes away from residents.

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“There are people in York who need housing and need it now.”

But concerns have been raised about plans for mandatory housing targets and councillors heard earlier this month that it could lead to hundreds more homes being built in York.

Proposed Government calculations would mandate the building of at least 1,251 homes a year in York compared to the 822 proposed in the council’s draft Local Plan.

But the total could reach as high as 1,501 under plans to penalise local authorities that do not meet targets by upping them by 20 per cent.

A meeting where the response to the Government’s consultation was discussed heard York’s Local Plan may have to be immediately reviewed after it is adopted in light of the proposals.

The draft Local Plan, which sets out the vision for development locally, is on course to be approved by ministers by the end of the year.

Liberal Democrat opposition leader Cllr Ayre said Government proposals including on targets drove a coach and horses through the draft Local Plan.

He added it also raised questions over the green belt with proposals to open up more land for building by looking at land within it that had been previously developed.

Cllr Ayre said: “The Local Plan’s housing targets were always ambitious, it was never a NIMBY’s charter.

“These proposals would rip up protections for the green belt and it puts developers in charge.

“They won’t work because developers’ interests are in maintaining land values and house prices, not in over-supplying.”