Dales decision-makers promise stronger voice for young people
Park leader defends authority’s record
A YOUTH manifesto to help National Park decision-makers get a better grip of the needs of young people in the Yorkshire Dales has been formally adopted.
The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority is believed to be the first such body in the country to adopt the Europarc Youth Manifesto.
A meeting of the authority heard it could be a key tool as it strives to retain the area’s young people and attract more to move in, amid concerns over the sustainability of Dales communities.
A lack of well-paid jobs and a dearth of affordable houses are some of the obstacles facing young people living in the Dales.
District councils and North Yorkshire County Council will also be asked to adopt the manifesto which offers “a call to action for the older generation”, according to David Butterworth, chief executive of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority.
He said: “It is certainly the case that the voice of young people is marginalised on decision-making bodies. This makes it all the more vital that those bodies open themselves up to challenge, debate and discussion from this important demographic group within our community.”
Park authority communications apprentice Katy Foxford helped outline the challenges facing young people in the Dales at yesterday’s meeting.
She said: “We need young people to live and work here to create sustainable communities for the future. For that to happen, we need to make sure these rural areas are places of opportunity for young people.”
OPPORTUNITIES TO ease an affordable housing crisis already exist in the Yorkshire Dales National Park but a deadlock is stifling attempts to address the problem.
After recent criticism for rejecting three separate barn conversions because their redevelopment into housing would damage the character of the landscape, Dales authority chairman Carl Lis has sought to clarify that the National Park is striving to help young people both stay in and move into the area.
Last week, plans to convert three barns near Appersett, Hawes and Grinton were rejected following a tense planning committee meeting which opened up a divide between members.
Mr Lis said the authority had received “a fair bit of stick” locally over those decisions.
“However, we are approving the vast majority of barn conversion applications – 100 approvals, against eight refusals over the past three years,” he said.
“These latest applications were refused simply because they involved field barns out in the open countryside, away from the road.”
A major problem affecting the availability of new homes in the Yorkshire Dales is a delay between the park authority allocating housing sites and approving barn conversions and housing developments, and action on the ground.
Sites have been allocated for 180 new homes across the National Park, including two sites in Hawes for 21 homes and three sites in Reeth for 16 homes, while planning permissions for new homes reached a 10-year high last year.
Mr Lis said: “There are more than 200 permissions for houses that haven’t yet been built. All of these permissions and sites have been published on our website to try to bring them to the attention of potential developers.”
Addressing the sites that have been allocated for housing specifically, Mr Lis said: “We are actively urging the landowners to bring forward schemes to develop these sites, which are sustainably located near to shops, schools, community facilities and public transport.”
The park chairman added that barn conversions can make “a small contribution” to the supply of new housing but they are not cheap or quick to complete, and will not be affordable on re-sale.
Only two of the 100 barn conversions that have been approved by the authority in the last three years have been completed.
With land allocated for housing and permissions in place for new homes to be built, Mr Lis said the National Park does not have to choose between conserving the landscape and providing more affordable housing for younger people.
He added: “We can play our part in ensuring the evolution of our communities, but I do think we need to remember that all of us are only short term custodians of this unique landscape and we damage it at our peril.
“We can surely be the generation to leave the environment in a better condition than that which we inherited.”
We’re actively urging landowners to bring forward schemes. Carl Lis, chairman of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority