An ambitious new housing strategy to meet the needs of residents across the county - including the development of at least 500 more council homes - has been adopted by North Yorkshire Council.

The strategy, which will provide a framework for housing policies and projects to be undertaken by the authority to 2029, was formally approved by elected members at a full council meeting on May 15.

It is aimed at helping to counter the demand for more housing in communities across the county, including towns as well as the deeply rural parts of North Yorkshire.

North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for housing, Cllr Simon Myers, said: “We have a county of diverse housing needs and as a vast rural county we face many challenges, but local government reorganisation with the launch of the council has given us the opportunity to bring big changes to our communities and the people who need the most help.

“Through this strategy we will take a proactive approach to housing delivery, and we will develop a bold plan to deliver at least 500 more council homes during the life of this plan - including more affordable properties.

“Every resident should have access to decent housing and their many needs, young and old. Our strategy is not just about building homes, it is about creating the right homes in the right places.”

The new strategy has also been given the seal of approval by organisations and housing providers in the county.

The North York Moors National Park Authority’s director of planning, Chris France, said: “We welcome the adoption of this housing strategy, which sets a vision closely aligned to our management plan’s objective to significantly increase the delivery of affordable housing for our rural communities.

“We particularly support the ongoing good work of the rural housing enablers on the ground who are critical to achieving this vision.”

And the chair of the York and North Yorkshire Housing Partnership, Nick Atkin, added: “We welcome the new housing strategy and its focus on the key priorities for the area. It sets out a strong vision for the region, with the references to quality, affordability and sustainability aligning strongly with our own priorities.

“The focus on the three themes of people, places and homes makes absolute sense and aligns with our work across North Yorkshire.”

The strategy includes proposals to tackle homelessness, increase the supply of affordable homes including council-owned social rented homes and improve the energy efficiency of properties, which would reduce fuel poverty.

The strategy follows three key themes – our people, our places and our homes – which look to focus on the following areas:

• Recognising the needs of our population at different life stages.

• Meeting supported housing needs and the needs of specific groups.

• Growing the supply of affordable and available housing.

• Addressing the rural housing crisis.

• Supporting communities through neighbourhood renewal and regeneration.

• Decarbonising homes.

• Ensuring that new housing supply contributes to the council’s net zero ambitions.

• Addressing stock condition issues, improving poor quality housing in all tenures.

• Ensuring that council homes meet the decent homes standard, and that management of the council’s housing stock is fully compliant with the Regulator of Social Housing Consumer Standards.