Scaremongering over Dales barn conversions

I REFER to the article about the Dales (Yorkshire Post, January 25) in which a planning policy officer expressed the North York Moors National Park Authority view on the permitted development rights. The whole article is an attempt at scaremongering when faced with the real meaning of permitted development.

It is farcical to suggest that: “the character of the area’s characteristic landscapes are threatened”, as is suggested in the article.

An invitation is extended 
to a delegation of planning officers from within and outside 
of the National Park, together 
with Government representatives, to come and observe previous conversions within the Hawes and High Abbotside Parish of North Yorkshire which have been 
done tastefully and without 
any real impact on the characteristic landscape.

Not every barn could be converted due to their situation, as is implied in the article.

It was local families and communities who designed and built the barns generations ago, so they would certainly not wish to destroy the very infrastructure and nature of the area as many of these families, together with people moving into the area, still work the land and have developed commercial enterprises and services due to the uniqueness of their surroundings.

Any suggestion that “new permitted development” involving barns would have “disastrous consequences” 
is both unrealistic and shortsighted.

In conclusion, the Yorkshire Post Editorial in the same edition offered a balanced and progressive view outlining a true understanding that changes are not always detrimental when undertaken sympathetically and within character.