Dudley Council leader: New house building targets are ‘impossible’

Westminster’s Labour administration on Wednesday revealed the numbers of new homes it wants every local authority to build.

Dudley has been told it must increase the number of new homes it approves in the next five years from 657 to 1,594, a hike of a whopping 143 per cent.

The council’s Conservative leader, Councillor Patrick Harley, pulled no punches in hitting out at Labour’s plan to drive growth.

He said: “What idiot came up with this it is plain stupid, they will have to reverse this.

“Going up by 143 per cent – we can’t do that, you would have to build a home over every blade of grass on our greenbelt and we still wouldn’t satisfy these numbers unless we put 12-storey flats everywhere.”

The targets will be mandatory as the government strives to build 1.5 million new homes in Britain over the life of the current parliament.

Deputy Prime Minister, Angela 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.

“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.”

Councillor Harley’s concerns have been echoed by the leader of Dudley’s Liberal Democrat group.

Councillor Ryan Priest said: “A 140 per cent increase to Dudley’s housing is obscene and undeliverable.

“When our new MPs banged on about change, I didn’t think that meant launching a developer free-for-all of our precious green spaces.”

Ms Rayner says she will not hesitate to take over an authority’s plan-making process directly if necessary and has written to every council leader saying they have “not just a professional responsibility but a moral obligation to see more homes built”.

But Councillor Harley launched a scathing attack on the Deputy PM. He said: “She is as thick as two short planks if she thinks this can add up.

“You cannot do this, it is impossible, we know what is best locally and will build the houses Dudley needs.”