Creating more new homes in the National Park (in a variety of tenures and sizes) is one of the objectives agreed by the Authority and the local District Councils in the National Park Management Plan 2019-24. The District Councils are the local housing authorities but the Authority has an important role to play by identifying sufficient land for new housing and granting permissions for new development. We will work with the District Councils, landowners, developers and local communities to try to help make this happen. This page explains more about why and how.
Why are new homes needed in the Park?
- We need to sustain our population, which is going into decline, with a particular need to retain and attract more younger and working age households;
- New homes will support the economy, our communities and the facilities they rely on, such as schools;
- We need a better range of housing, including smaller homes to suit newly forming households, more energy efficient housing with modern amenities, and opportunities for self build housing;
- More affordable and local market housing is needed to match local income levels, and provide a supply of housing that cannot be lost to second homes.
Where can new homes be built?
There are lots of sites that we already know are suitable for new build housing, including:
- sites that already have planning permission;
- sites that have already been allocated for housing development; and,
- sites that appear on our brownfield land register
In addition, there are other sites that could be suitable for housing in each of the 49 towns and villages across the Park. Each settlement has a boundary drawn around it and sites within this boundary can be considered on their merits. We can also consider sites outside, but next to, the boundary if these are solely for affordable housing.
What type of housing can be built?
- We want a mixture of tenures, including open market, local market and affordable housing. Local Plan policies C1 and C2 set out what type of housing will normally be required. Other bespoke types of housing can also be built, for example live work or rural workers dwellings
- We want new housing to have high quality design that responds to its context. Further detail can be found in our Design Guide
Will more land be released for housing in the future?
Yes. We are required to ensure that we maintain a sufficient supply of land to continue delivering new homes year on year. This will mean that we need to find new sites and we will be starting this process in due course. If you own or have an interest in a site that you think is suitable for housing development, please let us know about it.
What about converting existing buildings to housing?
We also want to see more existing buildings converted to housing and our planning policies are designed to help with this. We have a dedicated webpage dealing with converting barns to housing and other uses. Although targeted at barns, the same principles apply to all other types of traditional buildings such as former chapels or schools. Non-traditional buildings that are within the 49 towns and villages might also be converted to housing, provided this wouldn’t displace a use that is important to the local community or economy.
Authority statement on Housing
On the 20 September 2022 the National Park Authority adopted a statement that sets out its ambitions for housing. Click on this link for further information.
Contact us
If you wish to discuss a specific site for housing development, please contact our Development Management team planning@yorkshiredales.org.uk
If you wish to discuss more general issues relating to policy and process, please contact our Planning Policy team localplan@yorkshiredales.org.uk
Or phone us: 0300 456 0030
Or write to us: Planning Policy, Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, Yoredale, Bainbridge, Leyburn, North Yorkshire, DL8 3EL.