Housing in National Parks

[SarzWix]

I live just outside the Yorkshire Dales National Park (YDNP), and housing has been a major issue round here for a long time, and is getting worse. The government tell Craven District Council that they have to build X number of houses, but a large proportion of the district comes under YDNP, who consistently refuse permission for new builds, and even barn conversions. So all of these new houses end up having to be built around the outskirts, ie Here. This is causing our villages to become more like small towns, merge into each other, and generally become soulless, particularly as we are within commuting reach of Leeds/Bradford & even Manchester. We have seen huge protests at planning meetings recently as yet another green field looks set to become the site of 77 new houses.

It is paticularly bad for people who were born in villages within YDNP, who can't afford to buy a wooden shack where they were born, but see half the village empty for 50% of the year because of holiday cottages & second homes.

However it seems that, probably 10- 15 years too late, the YDNP Authority are getting the message...BBC NEWS | England | North Yorkshire | National park chiefs in land plea

Shame it took Prince Charles 'having a word' to make a difference, and not common sense, or care for the people whose lives they more or less control.

I'm all for conservation, but when a whole swathe of the countryside is being kept "pure" for the sake of holiday makers, well, the priorities are obviously wrong, in my opinion.

[Nicos]

I may be a bit naive- but I've often wondered why rural councils don't get some sort of grant to train up local unemployed peeps- or those wishing to learn a skill- by building houses in keeping with the area and at the same time teaching these people what the French call 'Artisan' skills.
Small stone faced buildings which are environmentally eco but built in the 'old methods' but updated.
These could then be rented out to locals who wish to stay in the area near their families.

I recall some houses were built -simpathetically -in Hawkshead in the Lakes many years ago especially for local first time buyers.

Naive - or practical???

[Orchid]

New Forest national park

I totally agree, I've spent my whole life in a small village and can't afford to buy a house in it because the prices are so high. The village is empty during the winter causing local buisness to suffer, and then we are overrun in the summer forcing locals to pay higher prices on all goods because of high demand. We are no longer allowed to walk our dogs as freely as before and I can't even keep chickens because of council rules. I could never move from here but pray for the day when i'm no longer pushed into the backwaters because i'm not rich!

[Nicos]

Hi there Orchid ( love the name!) ...and welcome to the Vine!

I can't believe you're not allowed to keep chooks( well- I believe you- but how CRAZY!!!!!)

My sympathies are with you for all that central government and local councils are doing to poor Britain.


I should add, that our Uk house is in a Conservative stronghold and one day , whilst waiting in the playground for my kids, I overheard one of the other mums reminding someone to vote the next day....I kid you not...this is what she said..." I ALWAYS vote Conservative- they do such a lovely show of flowers on the roundabout"

....Urmmmmmm......

[lynda66]

.this is what she said..." I ALWAYS vote Conservative- they do such a lovely show of flowers on the roundabout"

....Urmmmmmm......

lol ..... go figure ..... i always said when i found a good reason for voting for a particular party i would ...... seems as good a reason as any

it still miffs me why there are so many brown field sites, in this country, yet they still dig up the green fields to build houses, we do need more housing ...... but we really need more social housing, ...... then people who can't afford to buy the fancy new houses can at least get a step on the housing ladder.

it makes me angry that kids of today, have no way of buying their own place, and have no way of getting a council house, so are forced into the private rental market, which they can't afford.

there needs to be a big shake up, but with the amount of debt the contry is in ..... it aint gonna happen is it??

[jacob marley]

House's ain't selling nobody can get a mortgage some thing to do with credit crunch..jacob..

[FROSTYFRECKLE]

Have to agree with Lynda, there is a desperate shortage of Social Housing. But something also has to be done to the private purchase - a home is for living in NOT for making massive profits There are so many places in Scotland that are ghost villages in winter and only come alive in summer. I may get hung, drawn and quartered for this - anyone owning a 2nd home (holiday home) should be absolutely hammered by taxes of every possible type (in fact make up new taxes just for them). These holiday homes are desperately needed by local people.

[lynda66]

House's ain't selling nobody can get a mortgage some thing to do with credit crunch..jacob..

so why build houses that aren't gonna sell??

[SarzWix]

It really drives me nuts that because the National Park has this protected status, for years and years the Authority has blocked practically all building so as to not 'spoil the character' of the area. But where I live, an equally beautiful part of the country, has been turned into a building site, because the housing quota has all been pushed onto us. And only now are the YDNPA saying, well actually, we probably should let local people have some housing after all... And according to the local paper, it's only because Prince Charles has stepped in!!

[Two_Sheds]

Have to agree with Lynda, there is a desperate shortage of Social Housing.

Yep.
Housing has to be about profit, these days.

I spent 4 years in a co-operative (sort of like a hippy commune, but with individual flats). There was no landlord, (the tenants ran the place, did repairs, and set the rent). It was set up in the 80s with various grants.

Rents were about half the cost of private sector. We housed our share of unemployed people, which saved the council a lot of money in Housing Benefit.
But far from encouraging these cheap housing solutions, the Government has virtually killed them off by abolishing grants for social housing projects like that.

We, as a group, looked into buying another property, in order to house more people, but at market prices and 100% mortgage, we'd have had to charge £120 a week for one room

[FROSTYFRECKLE]

Did anyone see the Grand Designs programme about tenants building their own homes? I thought that was a brilliant idea, lets be honest it would stop sink hole estates forming. If you have put in your own blood, sweat, and tears building your own home, you are going to fight to it nice (does that make sense?)

[Two_Sheds]

Did anyone see the Grand Designs programme about tenants building their own homes?

That's what our housing co-op did back in the 80s.
I wish it happened more often.