Skip to main content
Local Plan 'The process'

Local Plan Process

For a more in depth breakdown of the Local Plan process, see the Local Development Scheme.

Groundwork

December 2019 – April 2023

Throughout the new Local Plan process the National Park Authority will be working hard to ensure that the evidence is robust and relevant. The evidence is there to justify the emerging Plan’s approach and content.

Socioeconomic Studies

Key findings

  • The population of the National Park stopped growing in 2009 after continuous expansion since 1970. It reached a peak of 24,200 people in 2008 and is now stable at around 23,400.
  • Population growth is strongly dependent on net migration into the area.  
  • The age structure is heavily skewed towards older age groups. The population over 65 has grown 45% since 2001. Pre-school, primary school and secondary school populations have all declined since 2010.
  • Projecting forwards, there are concerns about a shrinking labour force and retention of local services. Total employment has nevertheless grown since 2009, particularly within Craven district. 
  • Accommodation and food services is the largest and fastest growing employment sector. Farming is still very important with 1 in 6 jobs, even expanding since 2010. It is, however, at risk of a ‘shock’ which would have a harmful impact on the wider economy. 
  • People on rates of pay equivalent to police officers, nurses, fire fighters and teachers need more than five times their income to afford the cheapest 25% of the housing stock. This is a significant barrier to buying property in the National Park. 
  • It is projected that a housing growth rate of 50 dwellings per annum might be sufficient to counteract depopulation. Twenty need to be affordable for rent or purchase.

Below is the evidence we have already gathered for the new Local Plan.

Consultation No.1 – Setting the agenda

December 2019 – February 2020

This is an opportunity for you to tell us what you would like to see in the new Local Plan. You can find out more about our commitment to including you in the Plan-making process in the Statement of Community Involvement. A printed version of the survey is available in the winter 2019 issue of Dales, our newsletter for the residents of the National Park, and the survey can also be completed online. 

Consultation No.2 – Exploring our options: Ambitions

August 2020 – September 2020

Once you have told us what you would like to see in the Local Plan, officers will put together some alternative development scenarios for you to consider. Then you can submit your comments to us and this will guide the National Park Authority in drafting the first version of the new Local Plan.

Consultation No.3 – Exploring our options: Building new homes

January 2021 – February 2021

This consultation is designed to look more closely at how much new housing is required in the National Park and where it should go. It is also an opportunity for landowners and communities to submit sites for consideration through the ‘Call for Sites’ process.

Consultation No.4 – Exploring our options: ‘Local occupancy and barns’

August 2021 – September 2021

This consultation provides an opportunity to look in more detail at the current Local Plan policies controlling local occupancy and the Authority’s approach to barn conversions and consider how these could change in the future.

Fine tuning

At this stage we take the comments you’ve made on the Draft Plan and use them to help us write an updated version called the Publication Plan. You have the chance to make formal representations on its contents, but at this point the National Park Authority can only make minor changes. This amended version is the one which is submitted to the Secretary of State, so it’s known as the Submission Plan.  If substantial changes are needed, the Authority has to go back a stage and hold another consultation.

Testing for soundness

The next stage is the Examination, when an independent planning inspector assesses whether the Submission Plan is sound and if it has been prepared in line with the relevant legal requirements. The inspector considers all of the representations made during the consultation stages and the evidence prepared by the National Park Authority. They then decide whether to hold a hearing – a round-table discussion of issues selected by the inspector.

If you make a formal representation on the Publication Plan and you don’t feel that your point has been covered by the Submission Plan, you can apply to appear at the examination hearing and give your evidence in person.

Going live

If the independent inspector decides that the Submission Plan is sound (probably subject to further modifications), the National Park Authority can adopt it and give it full weight in development decision-making. If it’s found to be unsound, the Authority will need to hold another round of consultation and re-submit an updated version of the Plan.

The success of the Adopted Plan depends on how it is implemented on the ground and the type of planning decisions it influences. The Authority has a responsibility to monitor and report on progress on implementing the Local Plan.

Contact us:

Telephone: 01969 652300

Email: localplan@yorkshiredales.org.uk

Sustainable Development Team
Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority
Yoredale
Bainbridge
LEYBURN
North Yorkshire
DL8 3EL