Mayor unveils plan to build 38,000 new homes

West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin hopes to build 38,000 new homes in the region

West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin has unveiled a 15-year housing strategy which aims to build more than 38,000 homes.

Ms Brabin said the West Yorkshire Housing Strategy 2040 would "deliver a new dawn for housebuilding" across the region.

The strategy would identify untapped potential for new housing on previously developed land, the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) said.

It comes after new Chancellor and Leeds MP Rachel Reeves announced plans to build 1.5 million homes in England in the next five years.

'Intolerable crisis'

The WYCA said the plans would bring together West Yorkshire's five local authorities to deliver across four core missions – boosting housing supply, building affordable homes, improving existing homes and creating vibrant communities.

Ms Brabin said: "Our 15-year housing strategy gives us the long-term, joined-up approach we need to tackle this intolerable housing crisis, ensuring that everyone has a safe and secure place to call home."

The WYCA said there were about 85,000 people currently on waiting lists for a council home across the region.

Ms Brabin said 1,100 households in the region were currently living in temporary accommodation, 50% of which had children.

"It costs a fortune for councils and it's also morally wrong," she added.

Leader of Wakefield Council Denise Jeffery said "strict government rules over where our brownfield housing fund is spent" had hindered house-building plans.

"This has limited too much of what we’ve been able to achieve to places where land values are already high," she added.

Building 38,000 new homes would be possible “with the backing of a new government, and the promise of greater flexibility in how we can make decisions," she said.

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