Plan to ban second homes in Yorkshire Dales sparks row amongst residents

The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA) wants to ensure all new properties are not used as holiday homes and are permanently occupied.

If the proposals were approved, the ban would apply to all new homes across the 27 towns and villages in the Dales - including Bolton Abbey, Hawes and Malham.

However the plan has split the local community, with some supporting and some saying it will cripple the economy in the popular tourist destination.

It comes after North Yorkshire County Council announced it will double council tax for second home owners in the county from April next year.

Sean Kennedy-Tallis, 60, has owned a three-bedroom barn conversion in Giggleswick, North Yorks., for 12 years as a second home.

He says his council tax will double from £1,250 a month to £2,500 - and that he feels like he is being "penalised" even though he supports the local businesses.

Sean, of Halifax, said: "We will go there on weekends and on holidays - all my family use it for the same reason. We spend a lot of time riding around the dales on our motorbikes and of course, you can't carry sandwiches and coffees. So then you spend money in the different cafes and in the shops there.

"Then our family spend money locally when we go to the cottage, we don't take food and drinks - we frequent local pubs and restaurants. We do bring money into the area, so it seems a shame that we are being penalised just because it's our second home."

Sean is now considering making the barn conversion his prime residence, as he doesn't want to give up the property.

He said: "I'm quite shocked because as a family, we bring a lot of money into the area and I just feel like we are being penalised because it's not always occupied. They don't think that we actually bring money into the area.

"We might need to make the property our prime residence now. We aren't happy about it but it might have to become our prime residence as we don't want to let the house go. All the family love visiting the house but it will just cost us more money."

But Conservative councillor Richard Foster, 53, says the proposal will ensure that families will be able to live in the new properties.

He said: "It's not really a ban, we want to make sure that families live in the new homes that we are building. We've slowly losing houses to second homes but we want to make sure the national park does what it needs to do.

"We need to build homes for people to live in - pubs struggle for staff so they have to import people to come into the area to work.

"We've also got an aging population, we don't have carers, so it's all about building houses that people live in and then they can become part of the community. We don't want to lose them to people who think that a property will make a nice holiday cottage."

Coun Foster says he's spoken other local residents, who agree that more people should be able to move to the area and become "part of the community."

He said: "Most people think that if we are building houses in the national park, then people should be living there and part of the community. We've got a secondary school nearby and most of the teachers are coming out of the area.

"They are coming into the area every day. The classrooms assistants are coming everyday to the school and we've also imported students into the school. It's trying to re-balance really, as we obviously need the tourists because if not, businesses will fail."

Coun Foster, of Hebden, believes that the local area needs tourists visiting, so local businesses can continue to stay open.

He said: "We are actually more worried about serving the tourists we've got now. We need to make sure that there is enough staff so the businesses can operate - there's a lot of pubs that shut Monday and Tuesday now.

"There isn't anyone in the area who can work there, so they really struggle - especially this time of a year."

Local Conservative councillor Yvonne Peacock said that they need the proposed ban in place, to ensure that businesses can hire staff who live in the area.

She said: "In the Dales, the one thing we are short of, is people to work. A lot of our tourist and hospitality places are crying out for staff because we haven't got people up here who can work.

"People have found homes that are further afield and then they've found jobs further afield as well. We don't have the same jobs as other places, it's a difficult area because of the price of the housing.

"Local residents always want to see affordable housing - they want housing that our local people can afford to live in."

However Coun Peacock represents the Upper Dales and wishes that there was more plans for more properties to be built in the north part of the Yorkshire Dales.

Coun Peacock, of Bainbridge, said: "I'm disappointed because the new local plan hasn't put many sites in the Upper Dales. The west side of the Yorkshire Dales has a lot of good sites, but there's not as many in my side of the park which is very disappointing.

"There was sites proposed but for landscaping reasons, they weren't accepted. We won't have got as many sites to build on so that's why it's a bit disappointing."

But a second home owner, who wishes to be anonymous, says his council tax will double in April next year.

This means he will be forced to visit the Dales less often to save on fuel costs and says he will spend less of his disposable income in the surrounding businesses.

He said: "Our council tax will double in April. Like many other middle income second home owners, we will cope with this tax hike by visiting the Dales less often to save on fuel costs.

"And by spending less of our disposable income in Yorkshire pubs, Yorkshire shops and on Yorkshire tradespeople.

"Money earned can only be spent once, and North Yorkshire Council has decided that it would rather boost its coffers by taxing a minority that count for little in the ballot box than allow us to spend locally.

"I just hope that they do spend this easy money on local housing. Although I doubt it will be ring fenced for that purpose and I also doubt that it will bring down house prices."

Richard added that he thinks that most second home owners buy "older character properties" which local residents often don't want to purchase.

He said: "I don't have a problem with it. Although in my experience second home owners in rural areas tend to buy older character properties which aren't always wanted by local working families because they're too small or impractical, or too expensive to refurbish, maintain and heat."