A SENIOR councillor admitted it is going to be ‘really difficult’ to hit proposed housing targets set by government.

Cabinet member for sustainable communities and localities at Westmorland and Furness Council, councillor Virginia Taylor said the area needs more housing.

In July the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government launched a consultation on proposed reform of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and other changes to the planning system.

The outcome of the proposed changes resulted in revised house building targets for each local authority with Westmorland and Furness Council tasked with delivering 1,430 homes per year.

Under the current system the authority is targeted with delivering 227 homes per year.

In the area managed by the new council there was an average of 773 homes built each year between 2020/2021 and 2022/2023.

Councillor Ben Cooper (Low Furness, Conservative) asked the communities and environment scrutiny committee of Westmorland and Furness Council how the local authority is going to meet the proposed housing targets.

In response Cllr Taylor told the committee there are ‘so many unknown factors’ such as what the local plan will look like as well as the final housing targets from government.

Cllr Taylor added: “It’s scary to think how we’re going to deliver this but we do need more housing.

“We need to have more particularly affordable houses because in the rural areas people need places so they can stay where they grew up.

“We don’t want our rural areas to be hollowed out, we want people to be able to stay, work live and have children.

“It’s a tall order, and it’s going to be really difficult but we can only do what we can to make it work.”

All councils in England are to be given new, mandatory housing targets to pave the way to deliver 1.5 million more homes, the government said.

The Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner previously wrote to every council leader and chief executive in England to state there is not just a ‘professional responsibility’ but a ‘moral obligation’ to see more homes built.

The letter added she will not hesitate to use her powers of intervention should it be necessary including taking over an authority’s plan making directly.

Ms Rayner said: “Our decisive reforms to the planning system correct the errors of the past and set us on our way to tackling the housing crisis, delivering 1.5 million homes for those who really need them.

“And something I am personally proud of, our new flexibilities for councils will boost the number of social and affordable homes, and give working families a better route to a secure home.”

Reforms announced by the government will make explicit that the default answer to brownfield development should be ‘yes’ and promote homebuilding at greater densities in urban centres.

Land released in the Green Belt will be subject to the government’s ‘golden rules’, which make clear that development should deliver 50% affordable homes, increase access to green spaces and put the necessary infrastructure is in place, such as schools and GP surgeries.