YP Letters: Questions for park chiefs over Dales homes tax proposal

Should second homes in the Yorkshire Dales face a 500 per cent council tax levy?

THIS is an open letter to David Butterworth, chief executive Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority; Carl Lis, YDNPA chairman; Yvonne Peacock, leader of Richmondshire District Council; and Richard Foster, leader of Craven District Council.

As the major promoters of a proposed five year pilot study for a suggested tax hike of “at least 500 per cent” for second homes in the Yorkshire Dales since December, we feel you owe it to the public to categorically state if you still back that approach and specifically the figure quoted.

In a live debate on BBC One’s The Big Questions on January 14, you, Mr Butterworth, were keen to emphasise the point, correcting host Nicky Campbell for saying the park would like to charge up to five times more.

Your precise opening words were: “Well Nicky you’re slightly wrong there because it was a minimum of five times, not up to five times.”

Despite not being a tax-precepting authority, you had made the same suggestion in your report to the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority meeting on December 19 2017.

Councillors Lis, Peacock and Foster have also been happy to run with the figure, even though it did not form part of a narrowly-passed resolution which merely approves “the Authority working alongside the District Councils and other relevant authorities to develop a specific proposal to submit to Government regarding second homes, excluding holiday lets”.

The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority issued a Press release eight days before that meeting, under the heading: “Consider five times Council Tax for second homes.”

We are demanding unequivocal answers because we feel it is in the public interest that your intentions be known to all members of the eight constituent authorities whose support you are now seeking.

They should also be aware that no advice was sought from the Government about the legality of the proposal contained within the Butterworth report which we maintain was based on false assumptions in the absence of a financial impact study.

Mr Butterworth, you may also wish to answer a claim that you have failed to exercise the impartiality expected of the £100,000 chief officer of a Government-funded conservation body. With Richmondshire councillors  due to become the first to consider the YDNPA approach  on February 27, a swift response is required for the benefit of  all concerned.