RESIDENTS in the Yorkshire Dales National Park have spoken out about how their village is “under threat” over proposals to build up 135 new homes in the area.
Threshfield residents met last week to consider their next move is what they say is a “battle to save their village” from the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA) which is developing a new Local Plan for 2025 to 2040.
So far, the YDNPA has held six consultations to identify key housing issues and how the plan should address them.
This current seventh consultation is focused on gathering feedback on the authority’s preferred sites for housing development, building on a previous consultation which explored initial options for housing land.
A spokesperson for the Threshfield Village Development Concern Group (TVDCG) said: “The National Parks are a great British success story and are charged with ‘preserving and improving the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage’ of the areas within their boundaries.
“This is why Threshfield residents cannot understand why the Yorkshire Dales Parks Authority appear hell bent on destroying the character of their village by dumping 135 new homes onto sites at the very heart of it.”
Village resident Stephen Little, a representative of TVDCG, said: “We are certainly not against all home building in Threshfield.
“The national park has laid out a plan for new homes over the coming years and we estimate in the context of that plan it would be proportionate for 35 of these to be built sensitively around Threshfield.
“What we think is completely unacceptable is planning to build four times this number of houses and ruining the village in the process.
“We can only speculate why the national parks would want to do this – perhaps this is an easy way to achieve housing targets but this hardly sounds compatible with the mission to preserve and improve the beauty of the area.”
He said despite feelings at last week’s meeting running high, the residents came up with a plan of action which primarily involved objecting to plans through normal channels.
He did say though that if this route fails to produce a suitable compromise the village iwould be prepared to pursue a legal challenge at the Inspector stage.
Richard Foster, the YDNPA’s Member Champion for Sustainable Development, said: “While we appreciate the concerns of this particular group of residents, our approach is to support the local councils to get more affordable housing built in the right places in order to help keep the Yorkshire Dales National Park a thriving area. (We have spent nearly two years now, scouring the national park for suitable and available sites).
“The issue of future housing in Threshfield is of fundamental importance to everyone who lives or works in upper Wharfedale, and who want to see its schools and local services stay open, and the local economy flourish. “We are still consulting with the public on all the potential housing development sites across the nationalpPark so we would encourage residents to get involved and have their say.
“Final decisions will not be taken until that process is completed and it will then be for the Secretary of State to appoint a Planning Inspector to carry out an independent examination of our proposals”.
Skipton and Ripon MP, Sir Julian Smith, urged residents to register their comments on the seventh consultation, which has a deadline of Tuesday, October 29.
The Skipton MP said: “I urge everyone connected to the Yorkshire Dales community to take part in this important consultation on housing within the national park boundaries.
“This is your chance to have a say on how we balance new homes with protecting our beautiful landscape.
“Your input will help shape the Local Plan for the next 15 years, ensuring we meet community needs while preserving what makes this area special.”
Further background information and details of the preferred development sites and boundaries can be found in the consultation paper at https://tinyurl.com/3u5k5nzb.
To share views on the proposed sites, boundaries and open spaces email localplan@yorkshiredales.org.uk or write to FREEPOST Yorkshire Dales (no address or postcode needed).
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