Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority says 'large number' of potential housing sites are still not being built on

Coun Carl Lis, who represents Ingleton, revealed that eight years ago when the last Local Plan was drawn up, a large number of sites were suggested that have never been built on to alleviate the National Park's acute shortage of affordable homes.

In many cases, he said landowners were using the sites as 'pension pots' and banking them rather than allowing them to be developed.

He has now urged 'speculators' to avoid submitting proposals for housing sites to ensure only viable suggestions are included in the eventual draft of the document, which will set out the National Park's housing and planning needs.

He has also called for more help from government to incentivise the building of affordable homes to keep young people in the Dales - and believes that the National Park's restrictions on property type and character do not have a significant deterrent effect on new building.

"It's difficult to say exactly why some of these sites haven't been built on, but my instinct is that some landowners are keeping them back, having them as a land bank or a pension pot.

"We need to ensure that any sites included in the Local Plan have a serious chance of being built on, and remove some that were in there before. We can't afford to carry on like this. The Dales are suffering because of the low numbers of houses, and we are desperate to try and do something about it.

"Developers are looking for profit, so there will always be a viability test, but it's hard to see what the major hurdle is. We are appealing to people to come forward so we can retain young people for the future. The demographic here is still far older than it should be."

Coun Lis cited the example of the Richmondshire part of the National Park, which has a large number of properties used as second homes and holiday lets.

"There is a dual downside, in that this both puts prices up and removes the availability of stock.

"I'm on Craven District Council too, and there are no distinct differences in planning rules inside and outside of the National Park. Both are looking for quality builds. Yes, we keep an eye on the character of new buildings, but so do Craven.

"It's a key issue here now. Unless we do something, the future looks bleak for the Dales. It has a spiralling effect on services and schools."

Around 50 new homes need to be built in the Dales every year to arrest population decline and ensure a sustainable community.

The new Local Plan will cover the period from 2023 - 2040 and will determine where housing can be located. Coun Lis also concedes there is a 'sizeable minority' who are opposed to any further residential development within the National Park.

As part of the consultation process, 400 organisations with an interest in land and housing, including all parish councils, have been contacted and asked to suggest suitable sites.

"I would like to see sites being allocated for new housing only where there is a genuine commitment to build. All comments and suggestions for sites will be carefully considered in this consultation, but speculators are not welcome. It’s vitally important we get this right because without new homes, it is very likely that the resident population in the National Park will decline. To make the National Park a better place, we need to see affordable new homes being built and permanently occupied,” added Coun Lis.

Members of the public can contribute by emailing [email protected] before the deadline of February 26.