Help shape next 20 years of development in the Dales. Sub: ‘Key facts and big questions’

CALL me a hopeless romantic, but I would love to hear from readers of The Westmorland Gazette by Valentine’s Day.

I’d like to know what people think should be included in a new set of planning policies for the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

It’ll be the first Local Plan to cover the whole of the National Park since the park’s boundary was extended in 2016, taking in Barbondale and parts of Lonsdale, for instance.

The Local Plan will guide development for the period 2023-2040, so it will touch on the lives of most residents in the South Lakeland part of the National Park.

The YDNPA and the local district councils have commissioned new studies on population, housing and socio-economic trends to underpin the consultation and I’d like to lay out some of the figures before posing some key questions.

A total of 4,703 people live in the South Lakeland bit of the National Park, accounting for 20 per cent of the population of the park. But many more people live nearby just outside the boundary, in places such as Kirkby Lonsdale, and may care for or have an interest in this glorious designated landscape.

The population is ageing quite rapidly; by 2017, 27 per cent of people in the South Lakeland part of the National Park were aged over 65, compared with 19 per cent in 2001.

There are two primary schools, in Dent and Sedbergh, and pupil rolls fell at both over a five year period from 2014. The two secondary schools in Sedbergh, though, saw decent increases in pupil numbers.

So, one of the key questions for the new Local Plan is what planning policies can be put in place to help sustain local communities.

I am particularly interested in hearing from younger people who are keen to live in the Dales, so that South Lakeland District Council and the authority can work out ways to try to tackle the barriers they face.

Do people see the high rate of under-occupied homes (holiday lets, second homes, or unused dwellings) in the South Lakeland part of the Park a problem to be tackled, perhaps through policies that might ensure more properties are permanently occupied? The vacancy rate is 16 per cent inside the South Lakeland part of the Park, compared with 13 per cent in the rest of the district.

From an economic perspective, the South Lakeland part of the National Park has some challenges; as of 2017, there were 1,815 jobs in the area, 105 fewer than in 2009.

The success of the Sedbergh Economic Partnership, established in 2017, will be key. The partnership includes public bodies, local businesses (including Sedbergh School) and community groups. There is a perception that Sedbergh town centre is struggling to find a role and is not punching its weight as a visitor destination despite its proximity to the M6.

So one of the questions for the new Local Plan is how it can help to grow Sedbergh. What are the best sites for new homes? What policies can be put in place to support the visitor economy and high street vitality?

What are people’s opinions on the former Balliol School site? How necessary is the site for future business and employment needs, or should it be developed instead for housing?

One of the really promising recent developments in the patch is the coming of the B4RN hyperfast broadband network. How might this hyperfast broadband influence future development needs and planning policy? Are there more opportunities for home working or for farm diversification?

On another subject, it’s interesting to note that there are currently no building stone or roofing flag quarries left in the National Park. Last month, we took the unprecedented step of approving the re-roofing of a listed building (Yore Mill in Aysgarth Falls) with artificial slates. Are there places in the South Lakeland part of the Park where local, natural building materials could be produced viably once again?

People can get in touch through an online survey (www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/GHGWR59); write to Freepost YORKSHIREDALES, no postcode needed (a survey form was included on the back page of the winter edition of our Dales newsletter); or visit our website at www.yorkshiredales.org.uk/planning-policy

We would like everyone, regardless of age or income, to influence this Local Plan. The deadline for this first-stage consultation is Friday February 14. Thank you for taking part.