York Outer MP Luke Charters wants to hear from anyone serious about investing in the city to tackle its property crisis.
He has seen his own friends forced out of his home city by unaffordable prices – and so he raised the issue during his first outing at Prime Minister’s Questions.
In the House of Commons yesterday (Wednesday), Mr Charters urged Sir Keir Starmer to push forward on his government’s pledge to speed up the planning process to get more homes built – and for ministers to meet with him “to discuss the housing crisis in York”.
As someone now trying to get back on the property ladder, the Labour MP told YorkMix: “I just know how difficult it is to buy in York.
“A lot of my old school friends from Huntington, they had to move to Market Weighton, Hull, Leeds. And it’s a real shame that the people that I grew up with can’t afford to live in our city.
“We’ve got NHS heroes in York that have saved my family more times than I could ever care to imagine, and they can’t afford to live in our wonderful city.
“My wife’s a teacher, there’s so many fantastic schools in York, and these teachers and support workers can’t afford to live here.”
It’s taking too long for affordable housing to become available, he says. And the problem is often in the planning application stage.
He toured Germany Beck with Keir Starmer during the election campaign – a 600-home development ten years in the planning – and spoke to York developers Persimmon.
“They’ve got the staff, they’ve got the investment, they’ve got the sites, and in a lot of cases, they’ve actually got the local consent,” he said.
“It’s just that a lot of things can just get held up, waiting for the application to go through.”
As a result, York’s housing supply is “insufficient”.
But it’s not just about building new homes. “A lot of the existing local infrastructure is really stretched, so although I really want to promote development, we’ve got to make sure the infrastructure is there as well.
“So when I’m having conversations with developers, often, my first question is, what are you going to be adding?”
Mr Charters told YorkMix that wants to see passion driving these projects. “I want to see entrepreneurial hunger to get Britain building again, and planning authorities can play a part.”
He said: “I just came from the private sector director of a FinTech. If we want to open and expand our business in a new country, we’re really rapid.
“We will invest the resources to do that, roll out as quickly as possible, with that private sector hunger to get on and deliver. But so often, we don’t see that same entrepreneurial spirit from from planning authorities.”
‘Terrible’ rented sector
Working with developers and landlords in the city will be one key to speeding up developments, the MP said.
Labour now controls the city council, there’s a Labour Mayor, two Labour MPs and a Labour government. He says they are “serious about working together as a team to back developments that work”.
“Where developers are going to put in the infrastructure, we stand ready to to work with you.
“if you’re a developer and you and you’re serious about investing in a responsible way, my doors are open.”
Mr Charters acknowledged that renting was also a problem in the city.
“The private rented sector in York is in a terrible way. And I’ve just gone through renting myself in York, it’s really difficult.
“We want to reform renting through section 21 reforms. People get evicted through no fault of their own.
“If you are a responsible landlord in York and you care about good quality properties, drop me a message. I would love to work with you.”
There aren’t enough homes to rent right now, he says: “Constituents are putting in offers for rented properties 10 or 15% over the sticker price. And that is not necessarily the case even down here in London.”
He added: “The rented area is a real pressure point in York and in terms of quality and affordability. But I think the number one for me would be having enough affordable homes, particularly for public sector workers in York.”