Harrogate council exceeds house-building targets by almost 1,700 homes over three years

Statistics released in the government's Housing Delivery Test reveal the district needed 987 new homes to meet demand between 2018 and 2021 - but 2,682 were delivered.

That is 1,641 homes - or 266% - above the target and has sparked fresh questions over whether this level of new housing is being matched with improvements in Harrogate's struggling infrastructure, schools and health services.

A Harrogate Borough Council spokesperson argued the government figures are only a minimum target and that its own ambitions in its Local Plan take greater account for the desperate need for more affordable housing.

They also described the current level of house-building as a "positive step" to tackle this problem.

The spokesperson said: “Our adopted Local Plan, underpinned by local evidence of housing need, seeks to tackle a number of long standing local issues.

"In particular, families and young people are facing increasing difficulty in buying their own home due to a lack of houses and high house prices.

"Local businesses also tell us that they struggle to recruit locally due to the high cost of housing.

"The level of new housing included in the Local Plan will help to address these issues and support our economic ambitions."

It was six years in the making but the Local Plan was finally adopted in 2020 when Harrogate set its own target of delivering 637 new homes each year until 2035.

And while there was some controversy over which sites were allocated for development, local politicians of all stripes agreed it was better to have a plan, than no plan at all.

Councillor Pat Marsh, leader of the council's opposition Liberal Democrat group, described the six years prior to the Local Plan's adoption as a "free for all" of uncontrolled house-building.

She also said while the Local Plan has handed Harrogate greater control over its housing future, it had yet to be matched with meaningful improvements for communities which will feel the long-term effects of dramatic population growth.

"The Lib Dems are very concerned about our infrastructure; it is not fit for purpose," councillor Marsh said.

"The council now has a Community Infrastructure Levy, but before that the council could only ask for monies from developers if their development had a negative impact on existing nearby residents.

"Schools have been able to get monies through the legal Section 106 agreement to help with any extensions required because of the development but until very, very recently secondary schools were not considered or included at all.

"Medical services have never been included which is again ridiculous with all these extra demands on our doctors and dental services, police and our hospital.

"The government wants houses, but does not give councils the real powers to achieve what is required for the local infrastructure needs for all these large developments."

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Defending its record, the council also pointed towards the West Harrogate Parameters Plan - which sets out the needs for an extra 4,000 homes - as a measure to ensure the area has the "necessary infrastructure to support future communities".

The plan has been recommended for approval at a meeting today and while it has been praised by the council, those living in the area have complained it does not go far enough and is being approved too soon to balance the impacts of what will be Harrogate's biggest urban expansion in decades.

David Siddans, secretary of Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents Association, said: "Since 2018 we have been arguing that Harrogate Borough Council are planning for far more houses than the district actually needs, amounting to many thousands.

"Now they are giving developers permission for hundreds more on top of that, nearly all of them on greenfield sites.

"Every new house over and above the numbers needed adds to carbon emissions and also increases the pressure on infrastructure.

"From what we have seen with the emerging West Harrogate Parameters Plan, the authority is suggesting that a bus every 30 minutes and a shared footway/cycleway will address the travel needs of the additional 6,000 or so population, with minimal other changes to the network.

"We have also expressed our concern at the additional demands that will be placed on education, and the lack of a coherent strategy for secondary schooling."

Mr Siddans added: "We, along with other organisations in the area, say that the council should not be approving the Parameters Plan until full details of the infrastructure package is agreed.

"We understand that is not expected before May this year.

"We have no confidence that this will happen and it is likely that developers will again be given the green light with the wider infrastructure needs remaining unaddressed."

By Jacob Webster, Local Democracy Reporter