A Government target to build thousands of new homes in North Yorkshire could lead to the “death of villages”, a councillor has claimed.
The comments from Green Party councillor Arnold Warneken come as North Yorkshire Council sets out its timeframe from its first local plan.
The plan, set to be adopted by 2029, will identify where land should be allocated to accommodate new homes, commercial sites and the infrastructure needed to support them.
It will replace the local plans of the former district and borough council areas of Craven, Hambleton, Harrogate, Richmondshire, Ryedale, Scarborough and Selby.
In North Yorkshire, the Government has set a target of more than 4,000 new homes per year – a significant increase from previous targets.
Council chiefs say the government’s target has intensified the need for a clear plan that identifies areas for future development, while also protecting and the county’s landscape and historic heritage.
The proposed timeline for the authority to adopt its first local plan will be presented to members of the executive committee on Tuesday next week.
Executive member for open to business, Councillor Mark Crane, said: “A significant amount of work has already been carried out to develop our first local plan, which will set out where we feel planned, coordinated and sustainable development should take place.
“We are still at an early stage in this process and it is vital that our communities and stakeholders continue to play a central role in shaping the plan.
“There will be a number of opportunities during the plan’s development for people to share their views on what it should include, where new homes and jobs should be located, and how we can protect and enhance the good quality of life that we have here in North Yorkshire.”
But Cllr Warneken, member for Ouseburn, warns that the level of house-building needed to hit the target will come at a cost.
He said: “We are told that this is progress but we could be witnessing the death of villages, or at best we will be forced to accept this is a new definition – in other words, it’s village life but not as we know it.
“It’s legalising the theft of the countryside and it may be bringing much-needed housing, but its the wrong type of housing in the wrong locations, causing major upheaval and strain on the existing communities and the infrastructure already suffering from lack of investment.”
Councillor Steve Mason, member for the Amotherby and Ampleforth division and Liberal Democrats environment spokesperson, said he was concerned the new local plan would be signed off after next year’s local elections by a different set of councillors.
He added: “Conservative leadership has spent years dithering when decisive action was needed to deliver a robust local plan, one that protects communities from over-development in an under‑serviced county.
“We must now change course; commit the resources needed to speed up the plan, strengthen our environmental ambitions, and get out into our communities more to shape a plan people can have confidence in.”
Councillor Steve Shaw-Wright, leader of the Labour group and member for Selby West, said he would like to see the council develop plans for Heronby, a proposed garden village near Escrick, between York and Selby.
He added: “There’s always unrest when change is proposed.
“However, I strongly believe that locally Heronby would be a good solution to many of this area’s housing issues.”
For more information about the local plan, visit www.northyorks.gov.uk/localplan.
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