New role for old barns to revive villages is being stonewalled by planning rules

Walking the few hundred yards from the Green Dragon Inn to his own farm just beyond the bridge, Tony Fawcett gives a potted history of the buildings lining the roadside in Hardraw.

Thirty years ago, the café now run by his sister was a cow shed, in a previous life another was used to store hay and a former wool loft is now home to a young family.

With no children of his own and one eye on the future of his own farm, Tony had similar plans for a disused barn just a mile down the road. Dating back to the 1600s, at one time the building was a stable and hay loft, but it has lain redundant for years. While not exactly an eyesore, aside from providing occasional shelter for sheep seeking refuge from the rain which has fallen particularly heavily this winter, it adds little to the landscape of the North Yorkshire village, home to the famous Hardraw Force waterfall.

Tony, who is looking to ease the pressure of running the 700-acre farm with its 55-strong dairy herd and flock of Swaledale sheep, reckoned the promise of a newly converted barn would attract potential workers.

“These bones aren’t getting any younger,” says the 58-year-old, whose family has been farming in the Dales for centuries. “The barn is right in the middle of mine and my brother’s farm, so it’s perfectly positioned.” One of Tony’s nephews had already expressed an interest in joining the family business and it seemed like the perfect solution to what has become a widespread problem in the Dales. While many of the area’s stone-built buildings have humble origins over the years they have become increasingly desirable.

According to latest figures, the average property price in the Yorkshire Dales now stands at £287,180 compared with an average income of just £16,264. Even in the era of overly-generous mortgage offers, getting a foot on the rural property ladder was difficult. Now it is impossible.

Hoping to work on the conversion during quiet times on the farm, Tony made a few initial enquiries about redeveloping the barn, called somewhat ironically as it turned out New Houses, but was told permission would not be granted under the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority’s planning rules.

“The really crazy thing is they said while the barn conversion didn’t meet current planning guidelines, I would be allowed to build a brand new house on the outskirts of Hardraw. That doesn’t make sense whichever way you look at it,” says Tony. “Despite looking a bit tumbledown, the barn is structurally sound and the slates on the roof alone are worth thousands. A new build would cost so much more in terms of materials and labour, but it also seems to go against everything they say about being in keeping with the landscape and sustainability.

“I was born and bred here. I’m the last person who would want to do anything to damage this iconic landscape, but this policy, which puts an emphasis on new build at the expense of bringing old buildings back into use doesn’t leave people with a lot of option.”

Knowing the appeal process could have taken years and cost thousands of pounds in legal fees with no guarantee of success, Tony decided to put his plans on hold. His nephew has since married and moved to live and work in Richmond. Three of his nieces have also left the Dales and are now living in Manchester and many other young families from the area have been forced to move to Catterick where the presence of the Army garrison means large estates of affordable housing.

“We are losing the young people from these communities and once they’ve gone it’s very hard to get them back,” says Tony, who is also vice-chair of Hardraw Parish Council. “When you come up with solutions and are stonewalled by the inflexibility of current planning regulations it is incredibly frustrating.”

John Blackie, the leader of Richmondshire District Council, believes there are 1,000 properties, similar to the one on Tony’s farm, which are ripe for conversion across the Dales. He estimates half would be eligible for development under a new planning blueprint, but the rest would be thrown out because they fail to fit the strict criteria.

The policy is currently the subject of a review, but with the Planning Inspectorate due to report in the spring, time is running out to persuade the authorities to rethink.

“There is another way of overcoming the problem of affordable housing other than relying on new-build developments. It’s staring us in the face. I see no reason why these barns can’t be converted with a clause which ensures they are lived in by local people in perpetuity,” says Cllr Blackie. “Two properties in Hardraw converted in the last 30 years are now both homes and businesses. They add something to the village, they don’t detract from it. We are not talking about converting all the wonderful old barns on the fells, which I agree, are part of the landscape, but we need to employ some common sense.

“Converting these roadside barns would give them a life for another 500 years. If we do nothing we could lose them forever.”

Most accept that even if all the barns identified were converted there would still be a need for new development. However, those calling for a change in the rules claim it would alleviate some of the pressure off new housing stock which often doesn’t meet the needs of farming families. Affordable homes tend to be built to a plan of 90sq m, a typical farmhouse has double that footprint.

“We are not asking for mansions, but farmers need space,” says Tony, whose kitchen table is used as much for paperwork as it for eating. “You can’t come home after being up in the early hours, park your tractor, kick off your wellies and raise a couple of kids in a two- bedroom terrace. Being a farmer is a 24-hour, seven day a week job, but those who plan affordable housing don’t seem to recognise that. These old farmhouses were built with quite a lot of thought. They weren’t designed on the back of a fag packet.”

Allowing these barns to be converted would, supporters say, also allow a more seamless handover of agricultural businesses from one generation to the next and prevent farmers from having to sell not just the land, but centuries of family tradition.

“Cessation planning is incredibly important, but at the moment we do it very badly,” says Cllr Blackie. “In this scenario, farmers would not only have vital support in their business for the short term, but eventually they would move into the smaller property, freeing up the main farmhouse. It’s about being able to retire with dignity and pride.”

The National Park Authority has spent five years drawing up the new guidelines, which earmark 35 sites for 240 new homes to be built over the next decade.

“Our figures show that each year for the next five years we have a shortfall of 90 new homes,” says Peter Stockton, the authority’s head of sustainable development. “The reason for drawing up this blueprint was to be proactive and we took a long time deciding where to draw the threshold for barn conversion. New developments on their own are not going to solve the problem, but it has to be one piece of the jigsaw.”

Earlier this month, the Yorkshire Post revealed that only 377 affordable homes – classed as properties below market cost made available for sale or rent – were built in North Yorkshire during the first six months of the last financial year despite a need for 2,808 homes by 2016.

“Currently the average cost of rural homes is 10.4 times local income, compared to eight times elsewhere and it is not just having an impact on younger people,” says Mark Bevan, an expert in rural housing policy from York University. “A significant number of older people are moving from isolated, remote areas into market towns to be nearer to doctors’ surgeries and shops and that is putting even more pressure on housing stock. In National Parks, the problems become even more amplified, but very often there are simple solutions where families can look after themselves. Partly it comes down to policy and how local authorities apply those policies, but the key to these developments has to be that small is beautiful.”

Work has recently been completed on a development in Whitby, just outside the National Park boundaries. A partnership between Yuil Homes and Broadacres Housing Association has seen 11 affordable homes and three shared-ownership properties built within the larger Old Creamery estate.

Despite its historic name, it looks like a typical new build development and, while it undoubtedly meets local need, it would inevitably look out of place in a traditional Dales village.

“This is a special place,” says Tony, as he prepares to go check on his cattle. “It needs and deserves to be treated as such.”

Making plans for the future

The new planning blueprint to pinpoint specific areas of development within the Yorkshire Dales is the first of its kind since the National Park was created in 1954.

With the aim of addressing a shortage of affordable housing, landowners were asked to suggest potential locations and of the initial 143 sites, 35 have now been shortlisted.

Covering 26 acres, the plan makes provision for 240 homes, although developers will need to be found and planning permission secured.

Under the proposals, some barns will be eligible for planning permission, but only in areas which currently have 20 or more properties.

The blueprint was the subject of a three-day public hearing earlier this month and Government planning inspector David Vickery is due to report his findings in the spring.