Council leader acknowledges 'challenges' with building affordable new homes in rural Northumberland

Members of the council’s ruling cabinet were told that there were issues in the west and north of the county, where green belt and area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) land make it more difficult to get larger housing developments through the planning process.

The cabinet had been discussing a report on the council’s progress in meeting its three corporate targets: tackling inequalities, providing value for money, and driving economic growth.

Deputy leader, Cllr Richard Wearmouth, said the report was full of “really good news” that the council should “celebrate”.

But leader, Cllr Glen Sanderson, said: “I think we would be wrong to not highlight the fact that there are challenges. We are tackling these, but there are some areas we would like to do more in.

“One area in particular is around delivering the amount of affordable homes. It is not for the want of trying, but there is delay in the delivery of affordable homes.”

Cabinet member for the environment, Cllr Colin Horncastle, explained: “I do not have the exact figure to hand, but we have delivered over 1,700 affordable homes since 2017.

“The problem we have is in the west and in the north, in the rural areas. We have planning issues, we have got the AONB and green belts which make affordable housing very difficult.

“Rented accommodation in the private sector is so expensive. We are trying.

“We have hit some areas very well recently. There was a big scheme in Bellingham with 40 affordable homes built.

"However, in areas like mine in South Tynedale, we are trying. There is desperate need.

“It is not for the want of trying, but there are hurdles.”

Elsewhere, there was praise for the county’s schools, 94% of which are now rated good or outstanding by the education watchdog Ofsted.

This is 4% above the national average and marks a significant improvement since the Conservative administration came to office in 2017.

Cllr Sanderson was also pleased with the work that had been done to tackle inequalities. Speaking off the back of the recent Inequalities Summit, he said: “All I can say is thank you to all of the teams who have been tackling inequalities. We are starting to get there.”