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Summary of Inspectors Report into
the Yorkshire Dales National Park Local Plan

An inspector was appointed by the First Secretary of State to hold a public inquiry, in April & May 2004, into the objections which had been raised against the building restrictions contained within the Yorkshire Dales National Park Local Plan. The Inspector's report was published in December 2004.

This summary only covers the aspects of the report which affect Long Preston.

The full report is available as a PDF file from:
                     the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, See: Publications/Planning

 

In general the Inspector upholds the current YDNP Local Plan and its restrictions.

Which are:

New build or conversions should only be allowed for Local Needs Housing or Affordable Housing; and be restricted to occupation by local people.

There will be no new land allocated for Open Market house building.

The plan allows only infill or conversion to meet Local Needs and not houses for sale on the Open Market.

The Inspectors' report strongly supports the Local Plan in that there should be no extension of the village building boundary.

However, he goes on to say that there is an identified need for Affordable Housing,
which could be provided under the policy for Exception Sites, and many sites in Long Preston are candidates.

(See the adjacent column for his Comments)

So any building application on green fields in the village must first demonstrate a Local Need
and be granted status as an Exception Site.
Any other development will not be allowed under the current plan.

HOWEVER the current plan only runs till 2006.
Challenges to the next plan will start to be submitted from April 2005.

Comments from the Inspector’s Report on potential  Exception Sites in Long Preston
    

• The land at the rear of  the new developments at Craven Mill and at the former Auction Mart are reasonably integrated into the structure of the village although they form part of a sensitive area.
• The development of the sites at Green Gate Farm and off Station Road (between Todd Styles and the railway line) would result in significant extensions of the built area into open countryside which would affect the important landscape settings of the village.
• The sites at Church Walk although smaller would have the same impact.
• The land at the rear of the Maypole Inn and the small site at the west end of the village are closer to being infill sites, but there is no justification for their inclusion at this stage.
• The land at Pendle View is intended for one dwelling, but it is a large site which could not be justified for one dwelling in terms of need or density

The land at  OS1738 ( Field adjacent to A65 opposite Ivy and Rose Cottages ) has now been excluded from the development boundary so that it could be considered as an exception site for affordable housing. As a result it’s designation as an important open space has been lost even though that was the basis of two previous planning refusals. I do not disagree with the change but it does illustrate a problem if the important open space designation is used simply to resist development. 
 

Housing Needs Survey

In February 2004 a Housing Needs Survey was conducted by the Rural Housing Enabler for Craven on behalf of the Parish Council.

The raw conclusions were that there were 50 households, or families who were in need of Affordable Housing in Long Preston.

Although this total was arbitrarily halved by the author – the total figure is still being considered by some as a proven need, under the planning guidelines for building on exception sites.

( A similar survey for Grassington showed a current need for only nineteen houses – and plans have been submitted for eight to be
built for rent by a housing association ).

The Parish Council have unsuccessfully sought an interview with the author of the survey, and it has recently been learnt that a new appointee is being made to the post of Craven Rural Housing Enabler and the Parish Council has been promised that a meeting will be arranged early in 2005.

LoPRA thinks that there is a requirement for Local Needs housing in Long Preston, but nowhere near the numbers shown by this survey.

Various local people have expressed strong doubts as to the methods used in conducting this survey. Many questions were very vague and open to misinterpretation and in several areas it appears to contravene the national guide lines set out for such surveys.

The analysis of the data that was collected has also been questioned; the totals are crudely summed to include possible requirements up to 10 years in advance, - hence the figure of 50. The immediate requirements for now, and one year ahead, totalled only 10 households.

A resident of Long Preston, who has many years experience of market research, has undertaken a detailed analyses of the survey, comparing it's methodology with established guidelines for surveys, and with the guidelines  for analysing housing needs survey data from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. We hope that this will moderate the present conclusions in time to influence the National Park committee members, who are to discuss the matter in January.

The implications of the Housing Needs Survey are far reaching.

The supposedly proven need is very likely to be used to justify the development of an Exception Site - in fact there are rumours that a present developer is planning 39 houses – though the Planning Officer confirmed that no formal application has as yet been made.

If such a number of houses were built
– and then if insufficient Local occupiers could be found the developer could then eventually gain permission to offer them on the open market, and thus bi-pass the intentions of the National Park regarding new developments.
 

Is Long Preston safe
from further major expansion?

There has recently been a rapid growth of
Long Preston; 41 new houses in the last 2 years, bringing the total to 305 households.

These developments have used up all the available brown field sites. There was hope that the British Fuels site was going to be used for
low cost housing, but instead five luxury houses are being built, reputedly at a market price of around £500,000.

You might think that because the Local Plan and Building Line have been confirmed, the village is safe from further major development.

. . . . . BUT you would be wrong.

The current developer, in its various guises as
Northern Heritage, Heritage Developments, and
Exchange Developments ( Long Preston )
owns several green field sites around the village and it would appear that they seek to acquire more.

Having made the investment they are not going to walk away, but will try again for planning permission every year or so. No doubt other developers are also waiting in the wings.

There is a real danger of a large scale development riding piggy-back on the requirement for a limited number of Local Needs housing.

Long Preston is vulnerable

• We are a desirable village.

• We are within commuting distance, and have a rail-link, to two large cities.

• And crucially, we now have an unlimited water supply.

YES, we do need some low cost housing for local people, but as a village we need to be alert if we do not want to be swamped
with housing estates.

We need your eyes and ears . . . .

The earlier that unwelcome plans are uncovered, the easier it will be for the Parish Council, - helped by LoPRA, - to protect our village.

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