Ryedale District Council faces ‘huge task’ to end the housing crisis (From Gazette & Herald)

Ryedale District Council faces ‘huge task’ to end the housing crisis

11:50am Wednesday 5th November 2008

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THE demand for housing in Ryedale looks set to grow by more than 30 per cent over the next two decades, figures have revealed.

First-time buyers are also in a better position than they have been during the last 15 years to purchase a home due to a rapid fall in prices.

The figures, from a residential development review by countrywide estate agents Knight Frank, say strong employment, large scale regeneration projects and long-term immigration are forecast to underpin the growth.

Coun Howard Keal, Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Malton and Thirsk, said Ryedale District Council is working hard to cope with rising demand.

“We are well aware of the desperate shortage of housing and the council is making provision for the allocation of land to build 3,000 new homes over the next few years.

“Target locations for many of the homes are Malton and Norton, as well as, to a lesser extent, Pickering, with most of the rest scattered around main villages with the services to cope.

“It remains a huge task to deal with the problem in the teeth of the credit crunch which is putting off developers and destroying the dreams of would-be home owners.

“We need to fight our way through the recession which is making it impossible for people to pick up mortgage deals – some lenders have been asking for deposits of as much as 20 per cent.

“Our council is working hard to find ways of seeing that affordable homes are built, but it is is an uphill battle in the face of a housing market in free fall.”

Julian D’Arcy, head of residential development for Knight Frank in the north of England, urged first-time buyers to get on the housing ladder.

“There has never a better time to buy a property in the county for the past 15 years.

“It is important to remember that this more realistically-priced housing market provides the clarity that buyers need to be able to commit with confidence.

“This is a time when it pays to be brave, especially since this current decline cannot, and will not, last forever.”

Earlier this year, the Gazette & Herald reported how new ways of providing more affordable homes in Ryedale are being explored by a task group set up by the district council.

It followed news that the authority will fall well short of its planned target of 387 such homes over three years.

Coun John Clark told Ryedale District Council’s overview and scrutiny committee in August that affordable housing was the council’s top priority and he wanted a “broad-based” steering group to study the problem and to provide possible solutions.

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