The beautiful Yorkshire villages hoping to ban building new second homes to combat overtourism

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Members of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority have released a local plan which will be subject to a formal public consultation early next year, and have mapped out a proposed way to guide new housing development in the area over the next 15 years. “These policies seek to support farm businesses, and cover housing, the rural economy, traditional buildings, landscape and wildlife, amongst other things.” The plan outlines 369 potential new homes in areas such as Bolton Abbey, Grassington and Long Preston that would be developed to meet the authority’s target of 750 dwellings by 2040. “Whilst higher than average levels of holiday letting may be expected in a national park where overnight stays are promoted, very high levels of holiday letting within the existing housing stock, have been demonstrated to restrict the supply of lower quartile priced housing and therefore harm the vitality and sustainability of rural communities,” the plan states. The plan insists that tourism proposals “should aim to support local community services, as well as provide jobs and local economic benefits.” “New development will however need to avoid harm such as significant additional traffic movements or noise and light disturbance that might otherwise erode some of the park’s special qualities,” the plan adds.