Government's retreat from housing targets may reopen debate over Harrogate Local Plan

Harrogate's local authority is weighing up what impact the Government's intention to water down its pledge to build 300,000 homes every year may - or may not - have on future housing developments in the district.
Harrogate's local authorities are weighing up what impact the Government's intention to water down its pledge to build 300,000 homes every year - or may not - have on new housing developments in the district.Harrogate's local authorities are weighing up what impact the Government's intention to water down its pledge to build 300,000 homes every year - or may not - have on new housing developments in the district.
Harrogate's local authorities are weighing up what impact the Government's intention to water down its pledge to build 300,000 homes every year - or may not - have on new housing developments in the district.

Housing Minister Michael Gove's announcement today that the target is no longer completely mandatory follows a rebellion by 60 Tory MPs last month which forced a House of Commons vote on the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill to be postponed.

With housing targets now - apparently - set to become "advisory" and a "starting point", authorities such as Harrogate Borough Council are awaiting clarification of what the U-turn actually means on the ground.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

When it was finally adopted in 2020, after more than six years of difficult discussions between residents, council planners and government officials, the Harrogate Local Plan set out the areas where thousands of new homes and businesses are scheduled to be built up until 2035.

But the change of heart from the Government throws up - in theory - the possibility that Harrogate council would now be able to argue against housing developments where there were "genuine constraints" on delivering it.

Reacting to the statement by the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Harrogate council leader Coun Richard Cooper insisted Mr Gove’s letter to Tory MPs does not mean the rug has been pulled from beneath the Harrogate Local Plan - or that the need for more house building in the district has been removed at a stroke.

“We have not yet seen a definite proposal from the Government and will examine it when we do," said Coun Cooper.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Any policy direction needs to address the chronic shortage of affordable housing which particularly affects the Harrogate district.

“It is wrong to tell young people, many of whom have grown up and have families here, that we will scupper their chances of owning a home.

“I want grandchildren to be able to live near their grandparents.

“I want village shops, post offices and rural bus routes to have enough customers to keep running.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I want people who work here in our low-paid hospitality sector to be able to afford to live here reducing the misery of commuting and the jams and pollution that causes.“So if all that is addressed in the Government’s guidance I will welcome it.

"If it is a NIMBY’s charter that pulls the drawbridge up on the hopes and aspirations of young people and the lowest paid then that will be a different matter.”

The council's viewpoint that the situation still remains fluid has been reinforced by a further statement today from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities that targets "remain an important part of the planning system", but the Government would now "consult on how these can better take account of local density".

Mr Gove defended the retreat from hard targets, saying the Government was "now going further by strengthening our commitment to build the right homes in the right places and put local people at the heart of decision-making".

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Opposition politicians attacked the apparent U-turn, arguing it would hurt many people hoping to get on the housing ladder.

Labour's shadow housing secretary Lisa Nandy accused the Government of being "weak", calling the move "unconscionable in the middle of a housing crisis".