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| Yorkshire Dales move closer to 236 new affordable homes | Yorkshire Dales move closer to 236 new affordable homes |
| (30 days later) | |
| The Yorkshire Dales national park continues to make progress on affordable homes, a subject covered by the Northerner several times in the past year. | The Yorkshire Dales national park continues to make progress on affordable homes, a subject covered by the Northerner several times in the past year. |
| At issue is the growing concern that places to live amid the valleys and fells risk becoming unaffordable except to wealthy or commercial second home-owners and the retired. | At issue is the growing concern that places to live amid the valleys and fells risk becoming unaffordable except to wealthy or commercial second home-owners and the retired. |
| Members of the beautiful area's national park authority have voted to adopt a new housing development plan which involves the very cautious release of land for some new housing, limited to local people, over the next decade. It is one of only a handful in recent years to be approved in a UK national park. | Members of the beautiful area's national park authority have voted to adopt a new housing development plan which involves the very cautious release of land for some new housing, limited to local people, over the next decade. It is one of only a handful in recent years to be approved in a UK national park. |
| The plan includes 29 new sites which will be able to take 236 new homes in clusters ranging from just a couple to 30. Half would be affordable homes to rent or buy, probably through the involvement of a local housing association. The remainder would be open market housing with a legal agreement restricting their occupancy to people who need to live or work in the National Park. In January the document went before a Government planning inspector, David Vickery, who who rejected four other small sites in the Upper Dales. The authority still isn't happy that Vickery has rejected their plea to reinstate those sites, but there isn't anything they can do about that. Members expressed their satisfaction with the rest of the Plan. The chair of the authority Carl Lis says: | The plan includes 29 new sites which will be able to take 236 new homes in clusters ranging from just a couple to 30. Half would be affordable homes to rent or buy, probably through the involvement of a local housing association. The remainder would be open market housing with a legal agreement restricting their occupancy to people who need to live or work in the National Park. In January the document went before a Government planning inspector, David Vickery, who who rejected four other small sites in the Upper Dales. The authority still isn't happy that Vickery has rejected their plea to reinstate those sites, but there isn't anything they can do about that. Members expressed their satisfaction with the rest of the Plan. The chair of the authority Carl Lis says: |
| Our new housing policy remains, unashamedly, one of trying to support those who need to live or work in the National Park. As well as allocating new sites for housing, we have widened the definition of 'local need' so that more local households are eligible for housing. We have also increased the number of settlements in the National Park where barns can be converted to houses, or where brownfield land can be developed for new housing, to meet local needs. "Our focus now will be to get on with working with landowners, house builders and parish councils to get new houses onto these sites. | Our new housing policy remains, unashamedly, one of trying to support those who need to live or work in the National Park. As well as allocating new sites for housing, we have widened the definition of 'local need' so that more local households are eligible for housing. We have also increased the number of settlements in the National Park where barns can be converted to houses, or where brownfield land can be developed for new housing, to meet local needs. "Our focus now will be to get on with working with landowners, house builders and parish councils to get new houses onto these sites. |
Peter Stockton, the authority's head of sustainable development, says: | Peter Stockton, the authority's head of sustainable development, says: |
| The large gap between local incomes and house prices in the National Park prevents many local people from getting onto the housing ladder or renting more appropriate accommodation – so forcing them away or into longer commuting. This plan releases new land for a mixture of future affordable and local market housing, which should help some of those people to stay in the area and should also help to sustain viable local communities and services, like local schools. | The large gap between local incomes and house prices in the National Park prevents many local people from getting onto the housing ladder or renting more appropriate accommodation – so forcing them away or into longer commuting. This plan releases new land for a mixture of future affordable and local market housing, which should help some of those people to stay in the area and should also help to sustain viable local communities and services, like local schools. |
Healthy signs in the Dales in recent years include the successful campaign by Kettlewell villagers to keep their small but very well-rated school open, a success achieved largely because of new arrivals with young families. | Healthy signs in the Dales in recent years include the successful campaign by Kettlewell villagers to keep their small but very well-rated school open, a success achieved largely because of new arrivals with young families. |
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