A prominent Scarborough Councillor has called on the MP for Scarborough and Whitby to urge the government to adopt a brownfield strategy for new home construction across North Yorkshire.
The plea comes as local residents express concern that widespread development is drastically changing the character of communities outside the main town areas.
Scarborough Councillor Heather Phillips stressed that new housing must be balanced with adequate planning and infrastructure development. Councillor Phillips said that the region needs a targeted approach rather than extensive new building on undeveloped land.
"North Yorkshire does not need to be covered in houses, they need to actually take a brownfield site approach because I know that a lot of us who live outside of the town area, we're bearing the brunt of all this development and it is changing the face of our villages and those people deserve the support of our MP just as much as the people in the town who are maybe not going to be as affected because we can't have new houses without infrastructure".
In response, MP Alison Hume acknowledged the ongoing concerns raised by constituents regarding development lacking essential facilities and detailed steps she has already taken to address these infrastructure deficits.
Alison Hume confirmed she is "acutely aware" of the problem and stands "completely on the side of constituents" regarding the necessity of linked infrastructure. She pointed to specific local issues, including the sewage system in Cayton, as evidence of current deficiencies.
Regarding necessary infrastructure planning, Alison Hume reported seeking assurances from government ministers:
"I did ask the local growth minister what steps he's taking to develop a coastal strategy to ensure that new developments, particularly like the one proposed for Cayton, are delivered alongside infrastructure.
Because this is what constituents say to me again and again, there is no point building houses if there isn't the doctor to go with it, the school, the road in Cayton, for example, the sewage system isn't even up to scratch for what we have at the moment, let alone new developments. I’ve spoken to Yorkshire Water about that.
I'm acutely aware of this and completely on on the side of constituents".
The MP noted that while local concerns about the pace and location of development are understandable, there is also a recognised need for new homes, aligning with national targets. Alison Hume highlighted that the Labour government’s stated aim is to build 1.5 million new homes and that the local constituency already has a new accelerator program in place.
However, the MP emphasised that her strategy also focuses on releasing existing homes currently unavailable to the community. Specifically, she is working to tackle the issue of short-term holiday lets.
"The labour government's stated aim is to build 1.5 million new homes. And we've already got a new accelerator program in our constituency.
I understand the concerns, but we also need houses for people to live in and I am still working on the Airbnb short-term lets issue because in my view, far too many family homes are being used for short-term lets, and they should be released for use by the local community
And so, my argument to government is, yes, build some new homes, but release existing new homes back."
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