The National Park Management Plan (2025-30) contains objectives to:
- Support the completion of 250 new dwellings by 2030, of which at least half will be social housing, affordable or local occupancy homes to attract and retain younger working age households.
- Increase the proportion of dwellings that are permanently occupied by requiring all new dwellings to be for principal occupancy, and, encouraging change of use from second homes, so that fewer than 20% of properties are under-occupied by 2031.
The Local Plan has a key role to play in delivering these objectives, but achieving them also requires partnership working with the housing authorities, developers, registered providers and community housing groups.
The Authority has also issued a statement of housing that sets out further detail of our position.
Why are new homes needed in the Park?
We need to sustain our population, which is increasingly dominated by older age cohorts, so risks going into decline due to ‘natural change’. To do this, the National Park needs 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 been specifically allocated for housing development in the Local Plan (Appendix 4);
- sites that would be suitable for ‘windfall’ housing in line with the Local Plan’s policies; and,
- sites that appear on our brownfield land register.
What type of housing can be built?
We want a mixture of tenures, including market, local occupancy and affordable housing. All of these forms of housing approved under the Local Plan’s policies must be occupied as ‘principal residences’, not used as holiday lets or second homes. Some of them require occupants to satisfy certain eligibility criteria that target the housing needs of local people, including those that cannot afford a house on the open market.
Local Plan policies CP3 and C1 to C7 set out the locations and types of housing that can be permitted.
These policies normally require housing developments of two or more dwellings to provide affordable housing. Where it is not possible to provide the affordable housing on site, the Authority might accept a financial contribution, known as a commuted sum, in lieu of on-site provision. Commuted sums are calculated using a model that applies a specific formula to determine the amount payable. These guidance notes contain more detail on how the model will calculate the commuted sum.
We want new housing to have high quality design that responds to its context. Further detail can be found in our Design Guide.
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. Policies AB2 & AB3 provide flexibility for a range of traditional buildings to be converted to housing, such as barns and former chapels. The locational restrictions on conversions are more relaxed than for new build, which allows a range of buildings with reasonable access and capacity to accept a residential use to be converted.
Self and Custom-build housing
Many of the new homes developed each year in the National Park are self-build projects. Self-builders create their homes through a variety of methods. A few carry out the construction work themselves. Others employ a local builder. Most self-builders will manage the project and deal directly with planning officers, tradespeople and suppliers.
Self-build can be a more affordable path to homeownership. The hours put into construction may help to offset the cost of engaging a builder, while self-management of the project can save what would otherwise be a commercial developer’s profit margin.
Self-build requires planning permission in the normal way. In the National Park, planning applications will need to meet the criteria in Local Plan policies CP3 and C1-C7, as appropriate. These require housing to be located on suitable sites and subject to certain restrictions on occupancy. Planning policy for new build housing and barn conversion is also supported by the new National Park Design Guide.
The Self-Build Register
The Self-Build and Custom Housebuilding Act 2015 requires all local planning authorities to maintain a register of people who wish to acquire a serviced plot for self-building. The purpose is to provide evidence of demand for self-build and to release appropriate opportunities to meet this demand through planning policies and permissions. Registration does not, however, guarantee that a suitable plot will be identified, or become available.
Who can go on the Register?
Each applicant must be aged 18 or older and be seeking (either alone or with others) to acquire either a serviced plot of land on which to build a house, or a suitable building to convert. The dwelling must be for a sole or main residence – not a second home or holiday property. If you are interested in self-build in the National Park you can download a form to complete and return to Localplan@yorkshiredales.org.uk
The Authority will not pass identifiable information from the Register onto anyone else, without the written consent of the person who registered their details.