Authorities in the Yorkshire Dales have proposed a plan to ban the building of second and holiday homes in its villages to uplift rural communities and counteract overtourism.
The Yorkshire Dales attract a large amount of tourists to its natural wonders and beauty spots, from hikers who take on the crags and woodlands to those seeking a short break in the countryside. However, the new housing market plan hopes to consolidate its economy to provide more opportunities to permanent residents.
Members of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA) have released a local plan which will be subject to a formal public consultation early next year, and have mapped out a proposed way to guide new housing development in the area over the next 15 years.
The authorities have set a target of developing new housing within the national park, however, the plan states that all new housing should be permanently occupied rather than used as a second home or a holiday let.
“There is a lot in this draft, with 52 new policies to consider,” Richard Foster, a local councillor and member of the YDNPA, said. “These policies seek to support farm businesses, and cover housing, the rural economy, traditional buildings, landscape and wildlife, amongst other things.”
The plan outlines 369 potential new homes in areas such as Bolton Abbey, Grassington and Long Preston that would be developed to meet the authority’s target of 750 dwellings by 2040.
The plan will also support the development of the rural economy with a greater focus on climate change and nature recovery.
The plan focuses on primary residency “to maximise the use of new housing and avoid loss to the holiday market,” the draft plan released in December said.
A July housing market assessment of the national park found that there are over 13,000 dwellings in the area, but only 10,272 households, indicating that 22 per cent of the houses in the Dales plan area are not permanently occupied.
Out of this, 12 per cent are thought to be holiday lets or vacant properties while the other 10 per cent are predicted to be second homes.
In comparison, the plan said the equivalent figure for non-permanently occupied housing in England and Wales in 2021 was six per cent.
The authorities are hoping that a moderate increase in permanently occupied housing will increase the…
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