Rural regress

Shocking new figures reveal as many as half of all houses in the Yorkshire Dales are holiday homes, exacerbating the exodus from rural areas as younger people find it impossible to find local affordable accommodation.

The simple fact is that if young families cannot find homes in rural parts, then these communities will wither away.

Schools and local shops will close. Family ties for those remaining will be broken as only the wealthy and increasingly elderly remain in growing isolation.

Stronger measures must be taken. Constraints and incentives, through planning regulations and taxes, should be introduced to tackle the high proportion of holiday homes in areas where significant numbers exist.

Without action, villages will become further depleted. They must, once again, become living and working communities.