YORK’S council leader intends to look at how new Government plans on borrowing to get housing schemes off the ground could help move schemes in the city forward.

Chancellor George Osborne’s autumn statement this week raised the amount councils can borrow for building by £300 million, which local authorities have said could provide them with more financial freedom.

City of York Council’s draft Local Plan development blueprint marks out building 22,000 new homes, including many on green-belt land, and the Labour authority’s leader, Coun James Alexander, said the borrowing increase could kickstart such schemes.

He said: “I will be exploring how the Government intends this to work and what opportunity this could provide to supporting York’s ambition for new homes.”

Coun Alexander said he had recently written to Mr Osborne asking for him to block a planned increase in small business rates because of the “fragile” economic recovery.

Following the autumn statement, he said: “I am pleased the Chancellor has taken some heed in that he will cap increases to business rates, but I am disappointed he did not go further.”