Members of the public are having their say about future plans for housing in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

The first of three public meetings - held in Bainbridge on 5 July and attracting 34 people – enabled residents to say what they think about a draft housing development plan that has been drawn up by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA).

Last year a YDNPA Housing Working Group, which was set up to oversee the review of housing policy, called on organisations and individuals in the National Park to put forward possible sites where affordable housing could be built.

More than 140 were suggested and, of those, 38 have been put on a shortlist for consultation. Public sessions this month will present the context, objectives and proposed policies in the draft plan, followed by a discussion, questions and answers.

At the first meeting a strong plea was made for the advantages of building ‘lifetime homes’ in the National Park capable of adapting to the evolving needs of a household throughout its whole life.

Also discussed was the relationship between jobs and affordable housing, as well as the effect that the emerging plan is having on house sales and its slow rate of progress.

Many had come along to discuss the proposed new housing sites in Reeth, West Witton and Bainbridge. Issues of flood risk, over-provision of land and impact on the outlook of existing property were raised. Whilst there was a general sympathy for the need to tackle affordable housing there was little agreement over how and where this should take place. Strong opinions on both sides of the debate were forthcoming.

Yvonne Peacock, the YDNPA’s Member Champion for Forward Planning and the Working Group Chairman, said: “I was pleased that not all the debate was focused on the issue of individual sites and that some of the other housing policies were also discussed and received support.

“It is clear, however, that we will need to keep the plan moving forward as speed of progress is now an area of public concern”.

Peter Stockton, the YDNPA’s Strategic Planning Officer, said: “The consultation period still has another three weeks to run and we invite people to read the draft plan and write in with their comments before the 2 August deadline.

“We aim to report back to Authority Members later this year.

“The consultation will inevitably lead to changes and amendments before a final version of the plan is submitted to a Planning Inspector for examination.”

The next public meetings, which will run from 7pm to 9pm, have been arranged as follows:

• Thursday July 15 at Grassington Town Hall
• Monday July 19 at the People’s Hall in Sedbergh

Anyone who would like to attend is asked to contact Peter Stockton so that we can plan accordingly for numbers.

Write to Peter Stockton, Strategic Planning Officer, Yoredale, Bainbridge, North Yorkshire DL8 3EL, call 01969 652334, or email peter.stockton@yorkshiredales.org.uk

The plan is available for inspection at the Authority offices in Bainbridge and Grassington, in National Park Centres and on the Authority’s website at www.yorkshiredales.org.uk/housingdevelopmentplan. Details of the shortlisted sites can also be viewed online.