A PLEA for rural Ryedale to help ease York's housing crisis has been "kicked into touch" by councillors determined to resist the growth of York into their district.

Councillors outraged at the idea that the shortage of land for housing in York could be relieved by "off loading" some housing demand to neighbouring Ryedale have voted to reject any move by City of York Council.

The row was sparked when, as The Press reported in June, Ryedale District Council's Conservative leader Cllr Linda Cowling said she would be happy to talk to York leaders and be strategic about where jobs and homes could grow in the region over coming years.

Cllr Cowling was responding to comments by York council leader Cllr Chris Steward, who said the potential for the city's neighbours to help ease the housing crisis had not been properly explored.

But her openness was not welcomed by some fellow Ryedale Tory councillors and at a recent council meeting, a cross-party group of councillors voted through a demand to "reject any moves by York Council to off load its housing delivery in Ryedale".

At the meeting, Cllr Caroline Goodrick said suggesting York had tight boundaries while Ryedale had a lot of space opened the district up to development it neither wanted nor could accommodate.

She added: "We have a local plan which has been examined by the inspector and found to be sound, and within it is the housing delivery required for Ryedale.

"I don't really care how much space we have got, York has got its own problems and should deal with them.

"They have got lots of green space they can deliver housing on."

Conservative Cllr Goodrick proposed the anti-York housing motion, which was seconded by Liberal councillor John Clarke, saying she wanted the council to "kick it into touch".

The motion was passed by 15 votes to 11, but some councillors said they would welcome council tax payers moving from York to Ryedale and Cllr Cowling said she was in favour of collaboration with Ryedale's neighbours, even though the district already had a confirmed housing plan.

"We have an adopted local plan, and that plan will inform where housing goes in this district. We cannot willy nilly increase the number of houses build in Ryedale."