"The government have designed a formula for house building in England that in general terms reduces the number of new homes required in the north and increases numbers the south, .says Ken Hind Conservative leader of Ribble Valley Borough Council ''.Lancashire 's local plans in the 15 authorities propose building 5202 homes a year which is reduced to 3234 on the formula, which is subject to a consultation, closing on 9th November, 2017."

''For the Ribble Valley the formula proposes a reduction from the current figure of 280 homes to be built per year to 172 which means if followed will reduce the number of homes needed to built in the borough by 1100 by 2028 . There needs to be some caution about the figures because councils will be able to build more homes if they wish where need is established."

''For communities like Longridge, Whalley, Clitheroe and villages like Sabden already under heavy pressure from developers to build more houses , this will bring relief to residents and time to develop the necessary infrastructure associated with the planning consents already granted .Longridge has about 860 planning consents for homes waiting to start and along with Whalley has passed the current total for homes to be built in the District Plan which runs to 2028.Preston's figures are reduced from 507 to 225 per year which will ease pressure on developments in Whittingham right up against the Longridge boundary."

''Government have finally recognised that as far as building homes is concerned one size does not fit all for local authorities. Local factors, such as demand age profile and local economy needs to play an important part."

''Local authorities like Blackburn Hyndburn and Burnley whose numbers have been heavily reduced under this formula could benefit from tighter control of house building numbers in the Ribble Valley and force developers to look to build in other parts of Lancashire. where new homes are really needed."

''Ribble Valley Borough Council will make its representations on these formula to the government once a working group , the planning committee , and housing and health committees have considered it .I would urge both Town Councils in Clitheroe and Longridge plus all Parish Councils to do the same.. We welcome the views of the public on this issue and recognise that we have little time to respond to the consultation."