Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors chiefs pen desperate plea to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak warning him of the peril facing National Parks due to wrong-headed planning proposals.
Of course, the shortage of housing needs to be tackled in order to ensure people born in these idyllic parts of the country have a place to live, and aren’t forced to uproot, but it is quite feasible - and not an unreasonable demand - for a strategic approach to be formulated that takes account of spaces that are sacrosanct.
Because once you allow derelict barns and isolated farmhouses to become holiday lets and second homes, sure as eggs is eggs will follow the installation of power lines, access roads and hard flat surfaces. Communities could well begin to build and then, understandably, begin calling for additional services, amenities and infrastructure.
Equally, should those future communities not materialise, residents living in National Parks don’t need seasonally empty dwellings scattered across the landscape, homes most likely snapped up by wealthy residents from other parts of the country.
Worst of all, this proposed approach will deprive local communities from having their say. The proposals would exclude individuals and local communities from the decision-making process in relation to potential conversions.