Seaside resort building at twice the annual need

SCARBOROUGH IS building at twice the Government’s assessment of its annual need, placing the seaside town third in the country in a list topped by another North Yorkshire area, Richmondshire.

The council’s own local plan annual target – as defined in the source data for the latest analysis – was initially given as a range between 175 and 579, with even the lower end being higher than the Government’s estimate. The authority has since updated its own target to 450 homes a year.

A spokesperson for the authority said success in house building was “dependent on more than just local planning”, adding that IN LEEDS, the housing crisis has been defined in recent years by a political row over an initial council target to build 70,000 new homes by 2028.

The new analysis showed the city has been building around 2,230 new dwellings a year over the past decade, 84 per cent of current government annual estimates to 2026.

In pure numbers, Leeds is building the third highest number of houses per year in the country outside London.

Despite this, the city still has the fourth highest long term annual need outside London according to Government estimates, and the second highest the council’s own projections “reflect the potential level of economic growth in our borough in coming years”.

Referring to the big discrepancy between the Government’s and the local authority’s evaluation of new homes needed, the council’s spokesperson said: “We consider the aspirations that have shaped our Local Plan better reflect the housing pressures and demands faced.”

The new Potash mine for Sirius Minerals Plc and Scarborough Sports Village are all key developments, and affordable rural housing initiatives are central to housebuilding efforts, with an aim to “give more families with a local connection the opportunity to stay within their community”. need in the whole country according to the city council’s own assessments. The discrepancy between the two numbers (1,011) is also one of the biggest in the country.

Councillor Richard Lewis, cabinet member for regeneration, transport and planning, believes the current planning system itself – and our “fetishisation” and “politicisation” of the green belt are the biggest problems.

“I think we need to sweep away the current planning system and come up with something that is radically different that enables people to have a democratic input,” he says. “Secondly, take away the cap on local authorities’ borrowing. Enable them to build.”