16/12/2004

Opportunities for local people wanting to live in the Yorkshire Dales National Park have been given a big boost by a government planning inspector.

He has backed the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority's (YDNPA) new restricted occupancy policy that will prevent new housing from being bought as second homes or as holiday lets.

In common with other rural areas throughout the UK, the Dales have seen local people struggling to afford property prices forced up by the demand from people wanting to buy second homes.

The inspector, William Carlow, says any houses to be built within the National Park in the future should be smaller – and therefore less costly – be located in villages with services and be sold with restricted occupancy.

Peter Watson, the YDNPA's head of planning, said: “The main thrust of the inspector's report is that he supports the authority's idea of limiting new housing development to that which is needed by local people."

“At the moment, most house building in the Yorkshire Dales National Park is open market – meaning anyone can buy it."

“There is no logic in meeting open market demand in the National Park because we can't build enough houses to bring prices down to levels affordable for local people without destroying the landscape. So the obvious approach is to build homes only for people who work here."

“There are something like 10,000 houses in the National Park and most have no occupancy restriction on them so anyone will still be able to own one because the policy will only apply to new homes."

“The intention is to give local people who might otherwise have to move out of the National Park to get on the housing ladder the opportunity to do so within the Park.”

A similar YDNPA restrictive occupancy policy was overturned by the last government in 1996.

The inspector's report also supported the authority's policies to facilitate the creation of more and better-paid rural jobs and to provide the buildings to house them.

Mr Watson said: “The two policies – restrictive occupancy and better employment opportunities – working together should enable more people to stay within the National Park rather than leaving to find work and affordable housing elsewhere.”

The inspector's report will be considered by the YDNPA's planning committee in January.