GOVERNMENT plans to change the definition of what affordable housing is could lead to increased homelessness in Ryedale, the district council has warned.

On March 5, the Government launched a consultation on revisions to the national planning policy framework (NPPF).

Among these revisions, which the Government has said are designed to allow more homes to be built, are changes to the way an affordable home is defined.

A report by Ryedale planners has said that the new, longer definition presents a challenge in terms of setting an affordable housing target. “A number of the affordable products - such as Help to Buy and Build to Rent - will not be negotiated and secured as part of planning schemes but will be paid directly to housebuilders,” it said.

At a meeting of Ryedale District Council’s scrutiny committee on Thursday, discussions were held both about the council’s struggles to reach its current target of 75 new affordable homes per year, and what the new definition of affordable could mean in the future.

Cllr Tim Thornton said the reforms need a “howl of anger” in response, due to the disparity between low earnings and high house prices in places like Ryedale. Earlier this month, the Gazette & Herald reported that the average Ryedale house price is more than 10 times the district’s mean annual earnings.

Cllr Thornton asked: “If ‘affordable rent’ is unaffordable, where are people going to live?”

Planning officer Gary Housden said: “There are some very unpalatable answers to that.” He said that there may be people who effectively are never able to move out of their parents’ home, and in some cases the authority already has evidence of people being forced to ‘sofa-surf’.

He added: “In extreme circumstances, people won’t be able to access a roof over their heads.”

Cllr Caroline Goodrick asked what the affect of the changes might be on the council’s homelessness strategy.

Mr Housden said that potentially it could mean “more demand on our homeless services at a time when we’ve got the lowest number of staff to deal with that.”

The council will respond to the Government consultation by the closing date of May 10.