Architect Selby Stocks considers the future of housing in the Yorkshire Dales

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17 hours ago

THE debate about whether to prioritise the construction of more new homes for working-age families or the preservation of the rich heritage of the Yorkshire Dales polarises opinion. Architect Selby Stocks, an associate director at Skipton based Rural Solutions, argues that we can do both.
The Yorkshire Dales is a world-famous landscape with stone barns and picturesque hamlets dotted throughout the rolling hills and pastures of this historic national park. How, then, to protect its uniqueness whilst ensuring that communities continue to thrive and that residents, both new and old, can enjoy a high quality of life? Despite all the positives that are associated with living in a national beauty spot, there are also problems that need considered action.
The current population of 22,798 has begun to shrink and forecasts suggest a decline of nine per cent by 2042 without intervention. This is exacerbated by an increasingly ageing population. Whilst that's certainly not unique to the Yorkshire Dales, census data suggests it is significantly more pronounced than the national average, a trend which is expected to continue.
The most common national driver for this trend is limited employment options and this certainly applies here, although it's worth noting that unemployment remains low compared to national averages.
The cost of housing and, by association, living has been identified as one of the key reasons for the shift in the local demography. A recent consultation by the national park authority identified that helping younger people to live and work in the Yorkshire Dales was considered the second most important issue by residents. The average house price in the national park varies between £318,000 and £332,000 which is approximately 25 per cent more than the UK average of £267,700.
Alongside cost, a secondary reason is the availability of housing. The number of second, holiday and empty homes accounted for 22 per cent of the housing stock in the former national park area in 2011. In some settlements the figure reaches over 30 per cent, which has an impact upon seasonal vitality.
Analysis within the current Yorkshire Dales National Park Local Plan has agreed that the target for new houses within the park should be 50 dwellings per annum. That's not, in my view, enormous, given the current density of housing within the park. To put this in context, there are 9.6 hectares of land for every resident compared to the average of 0.25 hectares for England. Yet, despite this modest ask, the recent 'call for sites' draft allocations undertaken by the planning authority, which is aimed at allocating land for development, has fallen short of the proposed target. This is simply not good enough.
Over the last six years, an average of 39 houses per annum have been built across the national park but only 12 per cent of these have met the definition of affordable homes. Whilst there is a unilaterally supported desire to protect the landscape and built character of the Yorkshire Dales, there is also a need to support the growth and vitality of its resident population.
Currently there are many locations within the park that are not classified as 'settlements' and, as such, even redundant existing buildings are off limits to convert into dwellings in policy terms. These are places with names and a good number of houses, postcodes and communities. Any resident who lives there would name their 'village' but, according to policy, they don't have the status of a settlement. As such, any proposals to convert barns or infill between two houses are contrary to policy. Surely these are the sort of locations that could sustainably support growth without damaging the character of the national park?
If there is a need for smaller, more affordable dwellings, we don't need to look that far back in time for a good precedent. There is a strong tradition for short rows of terraced cottages within many villages in the park. These tend to comprise a front room or parlour and a rear scullery or kitchen with two bedrooms above. They have an attractive proportion and rhythm to the fenestration and chimneys that gives them a distinctive charm. As newly built dwellings with a focus on low carbon design, such forms of development could contribute positively to their locations both in visual terms and by enabling younger, working-age people to live in the area.
If we can achieve careful and selective development, building need not be the enemy of the enduring appeal of the national park. This is particularly the case when proposals are crafted following the local vernacular and are sympathetic to their surroundings.
Kindly reproduced from Friends of the Dales membership magazine, Yorkshire Dales Review. www.friendsofthedales.org.uk