Northumberland councillors slam Government housing targets

Under proposals currently under consultation, Northumberland’s target would be 1,768 homes as opposed to 549 – an increase of 222 per cent.

The figure was put forward as part of new rules that will give councils in England mandatory housing targets to pave the way for 1.5 million new homes across the country.

However, the figures have been criticised, particularly given housing targets in the Greater London area have fallen when the region is taken as a whole. Speaking at Wednesday’s meeting (September 11) of full council, Cramlington councillor Mark Swinburn raised concerns of the impact on his town and others like it.

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He said: “The new Labour Government have announced a ridiculous increase in housing numbers of 222 per cent. Meanwhile they are proposing a reduction of 20 per cent in Greater London.

“Places like Cramlington have had so much housing approved in recent years, it already exceeds the town’s housing need. Can the leader tell me what the implications are in his view for our county and communities like Cramlington that have already seen huge amounts of house building, what he will do to stop Cramlington and other areas becoming a concrete jungle with developers taking over any land they want at the expense of our residents?”

Responding to Cllr Swinburn’s comments, Tory leader Glen Sanderson said: “This is certainly something that has troubled us. In 2022 we agreed our new local plan, primarily to avoid development by one or two undesirable developers.

“We agreed completely and as one that it was a good local plan, it was appropriate and it was the right thing for the county. I was glad so many agreed this together.

“At the time time we decided to build 1,00 affordable homes – and we built double that. I know you will all be really proud of that. We also have nearly 1,000 more on the way – we need to have homes for everyone.

“We’re on target to deliver 579 new homes. Labour want us to build 1,750. Just imagine how that would work.

“How would we manage to build that many houses? Where would we build them? The implications that this would have are huge – clearly, it is a ridiculous idea.

“The implications on the NHS are huge – and on  our GPs, our dentists, on traffic, the loss of green spaces and on school places. Above all, there is no extra funding for any of this and all the additional social care we would need to provide.

“We know best – you do, our residents and our officers, not this Government.”

As of September 1, the total number of people on the Homefinder register for Northumberland was 14,801. Of these, 8,933 are currently adequately housed. 305 residents are in urgent housing need (for example people who are homeless); 1,903 have a high housing need (such as those with a severe medical condition) and 2,781 are described as being in medium housing need (for example households which are overcrowded.

Addressing this at the meeting, Cllr Sanderson said: “The number of people in need of housing is around 2,200. That is why we must not get carried away with random statements that talk about ten or even twenty thousand people because it’s not the case.”

Later in the meeting, Stocksfield councillor Anne Dale questioned the council’s cabinet member for housing on social housing.

She said: “We talk about affordable houses the council has been building. What about the number of social housing that the council has been building?”

Cllr Colin Horncastle responded: “Most of the affordable housing is being generated by the planning system. We do not build an awful lot of social housing.

“We do acquire them – if you want an exact figure I will have to get back to you.”

Defending the new targets, a spokesman for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “We are in a housing crisis so all areas of the country, including Northumberland, must play their part in ending it by building the homes we need.

“We will work in partnership with councils so we can deliver 1.5 million homes over the next five years, while ensuring that we also create the vital infrastructure that people need in their communities.”

 The Government has said that while brownfield housing will be prioritised, there is not enough to meet the country’s housing need. Because of this so-called “grey-belt” land will be targeted for house-building.

The Labour Party defines grey belt land as poor-quality green belt land, including scrubland, wastelands, and former car parks.

On London’s housing target being lowered, the Government accused its predecessors of ‘artifically boosting’ targets to 100,000 homes, which represented an ‘unjustifiable’ third of the previous national target. Labour’s target of 80,000 new homes still represents record levels of housebuilding, but is based on “a more objective assessment of need”.