Numbers of second and empty homes rocket

Members of the park authority will be told at its meeting on Thursday that latest figures from the 2011 census show homes without permanent residents now account for a total of 17 per cent of the park’s homes.

Campaigners have previously warned about a critical lack of affordable homes in rural communities where traditionally low wages often leave people struggling to live in areas where their families have lived for generations.

Caroline Skelly, the authority’s planning policy officer, said: “Work is needed to look at the reasons for the increase in vacant households and whether these are empty homes, second homes or holiday lets and whether there are any particular geographical concentrations of these properties.”

She said affordable homes were needed to meet local demand and to retain “a balanced demography” but says planning for future development in the area needs to reflect an ageing population.

A report prepared for members of the park authority’s planning committee said: “According to the census figures there are 2,158 residential properties in the national park which have no usual residents, representing 17 per cent of the total stock. This figure comprises empty properties, second homes and those used as holiday cottages.”

It said numbers had increased by 587 since 2001 - an increase of 27.2 per cent.

In national parks across the UK the average proportion of unoccupied homes is 14 per cent, far higher than the national rate of four per cent, the report added.

Almost half of residents in the North York Moors own their own homes, while residents who rent their homes from a council or housing association account for just 8.1 per cent of households.

The latest census figures show the population in the park is 23,380 - down 2.3 per cent on 10 years before.

It shows an increase in the over-60s living in the park, together with a fall in those aged 30-44. Meanwhile the number of single person households has risen from 10.8 per cent in 2001 to 13.7 per cent in 2011.

Members of the planning committee will be told that another key figure in the census is a drop of 2.8 per cent in the number of people now employed in the park’s traditional industries of agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing.

But there had been a “significant rise” in those working in the construction and hotel and catering industries.

“The proportion of the North York Moors working age population who are economically active is broadly the same in 2011 as it was 10 years previously,” the report said.

“However there have been increases in the number of people who are employed on a part time basis and conversely a fall in those in full time employment, which is a national trend.

“There has been a small increase in the number of people who are self employed and this now accounts for a fifth of the total workforce and reflects the fact that the local economy is made up of small businesses.”

Figures from the National Housing Federation have shown that in North Yorkshire, the average cost of a home is £223,065, while at the same time the average wage is less than £20,000.

The need for affordable properties is seen as vital to helping preserve local communities amid an intense demand for second homes.