Exclusive:New houses should be banned from becoming holiday lets or second homes across whole of North Yorkshire, council leader says
New properties across the whole of North Yorkshire should be blocked from being used as holiday lets or second homes, the council leader has said.
Coun Carl Les told The Yorkshire Post that he wanted local authorities to be given similar powers to those that national parks get to limit new homes to local use.
Earlier this year, the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA) proposed that all new houses built in the national park would not be available for use as second homes or holiday lets.
The ban would apply to all new homes across the 27 towns and villages in the Dales - including Bolton Abbey, Hawes and Malham.
The plan has split the local community, with some supporting and some saying it will cripple the economy in the popular tourist destination.
Currently, only national park authorities have the power to do this, however Coun Les said he believed the Government should devolve this to councils.
He explained that he hoped this would happen before North Yorkshire Council finalises its local plan - which decides where housing will be built across the area - in 2028.
“The easier the Government can make the planning process for brownfield sites and the more money they could give to councils to help support the development costs that come with a brownfield site, like decontamination, that would be helpful,” Coun Les, discussing the rural housing crisis.
“The other side of the coin is to put in the restrictions, like the national parks have got.
“If you build a new property or convert a property it’s got to have a local use, rather than become a holiday let or a second home.”
Coun Les said he would consider that across the whole of North Yorkshire, adding: “I’d support the council having the powers to make that decision - that could be a government edict before our local plan gets developed.”
North Yorkshire Council is currently developing the local plan, assessing more than 1,500 possible housing sites.
It has already announced it will double council tax for second home owners from next month.
However, Coun Les confirmed that all of the money from this - which could hit £14m a year - would go towards funding for housing.
“We are the only council in England saying that we are going to spend 100 per cent of that second homes premium on housing issues,” he explained.
This will principally go towards providing a flow of affordable houses, particularly in rural areas, as well as on a homeless facility in Scarborough.
It comes as concerns have been raised that the Government’s planning reforms are primarily focused on urban areas and the green belt surrounding cities.
“I don’t think what is being proposed by the Government is going to help,” Sir Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, told The Yorkshire Post.
“They’re focusing on urban communities, they’re focusing on big infrastructure projects forgetting again the needs of rural communities.”
Victoria Vyvyan, president of Country Land and Business Association (CLA), added: “Our planning system is in crisis and it’s stagnating growth in the countryside.
“Rural businesses could grow, provide much needed housing and employment, and be nimble and fast-moving, but they’re being hampered by a planning system that’s anything but.”