New villages 'only way' to meet housing targets

Comments about the county's need for housing were made as councillors discussed the proposed Maltkiln settlement

New towns and villages are the only way for North Yorkshire to meet housing targets, councillors have said.

North Yorkshire Council is required by the government to create more than 4,000 new homes a year.

The comments were made as councillors approved a development plan document for Maltkiln, a 3,000-home settlement between York and Harrogate.

Mark Crane, from the council's executive, said he was supportive of new settlements which would take "some of the pressure off villages and towns".

Plans for Maltkiln, which would be centred around Cattal railway station, are due to be debated by the authority's full council in November.

It was originally planned to create 4,000 homes, but was later reduced after a landowner withdrew from the scheme.

It also includes areas for employment and new primary schools, health facilities, shops and community services.

Crane said schemes such as this do not happen overnight.

"They are the only way long-term that we will deliver the housing numbers that we need, and they take some of the pressure off villages and towns," he said.

"Another Maltkiln will not happen for many, many years to come. This Maltkiln hasn't happened yet."

He said opposition to the scheme still remained but he believed it was a good site and would "deliver much-needed housing".

Maltkiln will offer at least 3,000 new homes along with health facilities, schools and shops

Executive member for housing Simon Myers said he believed the only way to meet housing need was to "look at new settlements".

"Planning becomes a contentious issue, particularly when we are continually building on to existing settlements with limited infrastructure, and limited room for improvement of things like highways and services," he said.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, he said the advantage of new villages or towns was that they can be purpose-built for modern living with the necessary services.

"It's a great regret that everything takes so long because the problem for North Yorkshire now is, whether we like it or not and most of us don't like it, the new housing targets that the government has given us of 4,200 houses a year," he added.

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