Row over Government's proposal to increase housing targets by 222% in Northumberland continues
Northumberland County Council's deputy leader has branded the proposals 'ridiculous'
by James Robinson · ChronicleLiveA bitter row over proposed new housing targets in Northumberland has shown no sign of dying down as the issue raised its head once again.
The Conservative administration at Northumberland County Council are opposed to new Government plans that would see the county's housing target increase by 222%. The Government have insisted that the rise is needed to combat the country's housing crisis.
Under proposals currently under consultation, Northumberland’s target would be 1,768 homes as opposed to 549 – an increase of 222 per cent - annually. Around 1,490 homes were completed in Northumberland last year, a fall from 1,590 the year before.
The latest meeting of the local authority's cabinet saw the issue raised once again. It followed criticism at full council last week that sparked an angry response from the Labour opposition group.
Speaking at Tuesday's cabinet meeting, the council's deputy leader Coun Richard Wearmouth branded the changes "ridiculous".
He said: ""We have a population of 320,000 and we're being asked to take an extra 117,000 houses. This is ridiculous - it doesn't make sense and doesn't represent what is actually necessary.
"A 222% increase in our housing target is what we're being asked to take on. If we're not careful and we don't mitigate it and don't plan for it, we could see chaos.
"Housing is going to be complex and challenging. We have always said we want to build the right houses in the right place and we have a plan in place to do this.
"We will make sure our local plan is up to date and help town and parish councils to make sure their neighbourhood plans are up to date because they are the best lines of defence."
Council leader Glen Sanderson meanwhile defended the council's record on affordable housing.
He said: "We know from demand that there's room for ambitious house building to continue, but we are concerned about the level of houses to be built, not least because of the implications more houses would have on things like roads, loss of green space and amenity as well as the impact on GP surgeries, dentists and school places. We are also concerned about the funding.
"We are absolutely alarmed by the consultation we have received from the Government and alarmed by the increase of 222%. We had a discussion at council last week on our key priority around ensuring we build affordable housing.
"We have got something like 2,000 being delivered or in process of being delivered and that is really commendable. We will make all these points in the consultation we send to Government. We feel we are there or there abouts in terms of housing delivery."
There are currently 14,801 people on the county's Homefinder waiting list, of which 305 are in urgent housing need' 1,903 have a high housing need and 2,781 are in medium housing need.
The leader of Northumberland Labour, Coun Scott Dickinson, defended his party's proposals.
He said: "The council's own documents say there are plentiful areas of housing land. We have allowed developers to build houses that nobody can afford. None of the properties have been for local people and this is the problem.
"We need to look at it as an opportunity to build what we need to build for Northumberland, rather than allowing developers to build what they want. The idea it is a 222% increase is misleading because for the last several years the council has allowed developers to build over 1,500 homes.
"The new rules say housing must be built with communities. Currently, and for the last several years, house building has been done to communities - it hasn't been managed properly.
"Instead of the approach the Conservatives are taking we should be saying we want to be a trailblazer and get some money to deal with the issues - adding to social and affordable housing for young professionals or supporting social landlords."
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