Former PM defends housing record in Yorkshire

Former PM David Cameron has accused Labour of attempting to "take the credit" over the resolution of a long-running housing development in North Yorkshire.

The 650-home Germany Beck development, in the York suburb of Fulford, has taken 15 years to build.

While visiting the York Outer constituency, the foreign secretary said it was the Conservatives who had successfully unblocked the plans.

On a visit to the development last week, Sir Keir Starmer had criticised the lengthy delays.

Lord Cameron visited Curlew Fields Dairies in Hessay on Thursday afternoon.

When quizzed on soaring house prices and rents in the area, he said the most important thing was to "get the infrastructure in and the houses built".

"I have been coming to this constituency for many years now and what I see is that, after 2010, we were the ones that said we were going to have to improve the infrastructure," he said.

"We have got the money now for the dualling of the ring road.

"On things like the Germany Beck housing estate that was blocked for ages, it was a Conservative government and a Conservative council here in Yorkshire that unblocked that."

Lord Cameron added that Sir Keir and his team had "turned up to try and sort of take credit", just as they were "really getting going on it".

On Sir Keir's visit to the development last Thursday, he pledged to take a "yimby" - which stands for "yes in my backyard" - approach to new housing while still protecting the countryside.

He added: "We cannot go on with delays like that [15 years].

"It means that many people across Yorkshire, perhaps first-time buyers, are not able to get on the property ladder because there is not enough housing and they can't afford it."

Also in Yorkshire last week, Sir Ed Davey unveiled his plans to tackle the housing crisis.

"We’ve got a plan for 150,000 new social homes every year," Sir Ed told the BBC, from Whinfell Quarry Gardens in Sheffield.

"We'd fund that through borrowing because it's a capital investment, but with people finding affordable housing difficult to come by, I think that's a good strategy."

Full list of candidates standing in York Outer

Darren Borrows - Independent

Luke Charters - Labour

John Crispin-Bailey - Reform UK

David Eadington - The Yorkshire Party

Keith Hayden - Independent

Andrew Hollyer - Liberal Democrat

Mike Kearney - Green

Hal Mayne - Independent

Julian Sturdy - Conservative

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