Cumbria could bring unique challenges to new housing plans

With much of the county covered by national parks, namely the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales, and the North Pennines Area of Outstanding National Beauty (AONB), unitary authorities given mandatory targets may be too cautious to build on protected landscapes, opting for the limited areas outside of them, according to one charity’s planning representative.

Lorayne Wall, planning officer at landscape group Friends of the Lake District, said this could end up with either inappropriate housing or monetary sanctions for councils if they don’t comply with targets amid hesitation.

Lorayne Wall (Image: Supplied)

Her main role is to consider and respond to planning applications, local plan consultations, and consultations on national planning policy changes.

While she works at a group which is focused on the Lake District, she discussed the issue from a Cumbria-wide perspective.

She said: “The principle of building new houses is clearly accepted, all authorities need to have a local plan.

“But we’re concerned with the big jump in housing targets and that they’re going to be mandatory without any idea on what these targets are going to be based on.”

She said the government claimed dedication to the environment, but questions their ability to fulfil that while maintaining their housing targets.

Labour said 1.5million houses will be built nationwide over the next five years.

Cumbria is set for some of the largest increases in housing targets under the Government’s new methodology.

For Cumberland Council, the annual starts target increases from 224 to 1,217 while for Westmorland and Furness, it rises from 227 to 1,430.

It comes after the Deputy Prime Minister unveiled plans to overhaul the current planning framework with hopes of delivering Labour’s promise of building 1.5m homes over the next five years.

Angela Rayner’s overhaul of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) will see the reversing of the previous Conservative government's removal of mandatory housing targets.

The move followed evidence suggesting the changes had adversely affected the provision of housing, with projections showing the former Tory policies would lead to the construction of fewer than 200,000 new homes in 2024-25, short of the annual 300,000 properties goal.

Ms Rayner advocates a positive stance on brownfield development and encourages increased housebuilding in urban centres.

Noting the lack of sufficient brownfield land to address housing needs, the government will permit the targeted use of grey belt land, such as disused petrol stations and car parks, located within the green belt.

However, any release of green belt land will operate under "golden rules", ensuring the resulting development comprises 50 per cent affordable homes focused on social rent and comes with ready access to green spaces and essential infrastructures like schools and GP surgeries.

READ MORE: Over 1,200 homes planned for Cumberland Council area, but locations unknown

Cumbria has no greenbelt land, however, so it’s unknown how much green space will be affected.

Ms Wall said she is also concerned about the ‘gradual erosion of the landscape’ and the impacts on habitats, including those not classed as protected.

“Cumbria is quite a constrained county, and there’s a higher bar for environmental consideration than in other parts of the country.”

She said the mandatory targets have been put in place seemingly without an assessment on the area’s capacity.

“This means councils will have to find land in their local plans, even if they think it’s gong to be harmful, to develop.

“If they refuse, it seems they will be punished, even if the reasons are justified.”

The Friends of the Lake District said it will be submitting a response to the government’s active consultation, and are currently representing the county with Campaign to Protect Rural England in talks with the government.

Carlisle MP Julie Minns said the targets are attainable.

She said: “I fully support the government’s plans because we are crying out for affordable housing.

Julie Minns (Image: Supplied)

“We have to build affordable homes so that young people aren’t forced to move away and to enable more young families to come here.

“We need people to come because our working-age population is shrinking. If we can’t provide housing, it will hamper our ability to grow and prosper.

“The government’s targets are ambitious but they are realistic.

“In Carlisle, for example, St Cuthbert’s Garden Village should deliver 9,500 new homes.”

But she added: “This isn’t just about building houses.

"They must be affordable and accompanied by infrastructure improvements such as better public transport and health services. That is a priority for the new Labour government."

Natural England has put the rivers Eden, Derwent and Bassenthwaite - and the River Kent in South Cumbria - on the protected list, meaning all new developments in these catchments need to evidence so-called nutrient neutrality prior to commencement.

John Blue, the land and sales director at Genesis Homes, said homebuilders are now seriously considering 'pulling the plug' on any planned development in areas impacted by the restrictions.

“The UK is experiencing one of its worst housing crises in history and these restrictions are only adding to the problem.

“Natural England and the government really need to address this restrictive and prohibitive legislation to allow more new homes to be built and breathe life into our local communities,” Mr Blue said.

Helen Davison, Green Party council member for Belah on Cumberland Council, said grassroots community outreach is vital if new houses are being built.

Citing the Green Party manifesto, Cllr Davison said over a million households are on waiting lists for council housing and 130,000 children are growing up in temporary accommodation amid a ‘housing crisis’.

Helen Davison (Image: Supplied)

To fix it, not only does the government need to build affordable houses to buy, but also affordable houses to rent, she said.

But it’s useless if councils don’t properly engage with the community who will be affected by poor planning, Cllr Davison explained: “Some councils will say they’ve engaged with the community but haven’t.

“I really want to see the public engaged in discussions about where houses should go, and particularly green space areas which may look like wasteland to developers but are actually important green spaces to the community and to wildlife.

“What we really need is a system and government that is willing to stand up to developers and ensure they build the right type of houses.”