PLANNING permission for two news home on the former Baliol School site in Sedbergh has been refused so that the site can be kept for new business development.

The decision was taken at the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority's (YDNPA) Planning Committee meeting.

“This was a really important decision for us,” said the YDNPA’s Member Champion for Development Management, Robert Heseltine.

“We want Sedbergh, the most populous parish in the National Park, to be a place that people can work in as well as live. The town has lost sites earmarked for business development in the past and we were keen to avoid that happening again. We can’t hope to hang on to our young people, or attract families to move into the area, if we haven’t got places where they can work."

He said that the authority had made it clear that it would welcome applications for all sorts of business uses such as offices, workshops, hotel, crèche or gym and that there were alternative sites available within the town for new housing development.

The former Baliol School site extends to more than six hectares. It was sold by North Yorkshire County Council to a number of different landowners in February 2016.

The site as a whole was allocated for business development through the adoption of the Yorkshire Dales Local Plan in December last year.

In March, outline planning consent was granted for the erection of two commercial units on one part of the site.

The decision to refuse planning consent for the erection of two houses on the site was made by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority’s Planning Committee on Tuesday, 11 July 2017. The applicant was advised that live/work units would be supported.