District and county slam park authority Article 4 order on permitted development

A district council and a county council have called on ministers to cancel an Article 4 order made by a national park authority in relation to permitted development rights.

At a meeting on 25 March this year the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA) made the order to remove rights allowing the conversion of barns and other agricultural buildings to flexible commercial uses including shops, restaurants, offices, hotels and sports halls without the need for planning permission.

However, writing to the Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles, and the Environment Secretary, Owen Patterson, Richmondshire DC and North Yorkshire CC said they were “of the view that by imposing the need to apply for planning permission the YDNPA are acting contrary to the desire of central and local government to stimulate economic growth in rural areas and that the Yorkshire Dales will be at odds with the planning regime operating everywhere else in the country”.

Richmondshire and North Yorkshire claimed that the park authority’s plan:

  • Struck directly against their roles as the joint economic development authorities for all of Richmondshire, including that part within the YDNP;
  • Undermined the statutory duty they both had to promote at all times the economic and social well being of residents and businesses wherever they were in the County of North Yorkshire;
  • Denied planning rights within Richmondshire to those engaged in agriculture as a business, “rights that are freely available in the remainder of England”;
  • Created a two-tier planning regime in Richmondshire “when there are many disadvantages to local communities in making the YDNP unique in this regard and no case for doing so”;
  • Failed to take into account the deeply rural / rural / agricultural nature of Richmondshire, “the 6th most sparsely populated district in England, where there is a huge dependence on the highly vulnerable upland system of farming”.

Cllr John Blackie, Leader of Richmondshire, said: “The relaxation of planning controls would greatly assist in boosting farm incomes, tourism, business for the host of small construction trades that are a feature of the National Park and the general prosperity of the local communities and local economies.

“The YDNPA are wrong to try to control these key opportunities for enterprise via a stifling Article 4 Order, and I hope the Ministers will agree with us and reject their request.”

North Yorkshire’s Executive Member for Highways and Planning Services Cllr Gareth Dadd said: “We understand the need to care for the unique heritage of the Yorkshire Dales, but in a sparsely populated area such as this, maintaining heritage means we also have to help communities to be sustainable and to thrive socially and economically. We cannot agree with the imposition of rigid planning controls in this way; we have to support our hard-pressed agricultural communities to develop their businesses into the future.”

Peter Charlesworth, chairman of the park authority, said: “We are obviously surprised that the two councils have decided to take this course of action.

“We think the issue is a simple one. It is who makes local planning decisions? Are they best made in Westminster or Whitehall or are they best made by local bodies? There are strong economic and community reasons – as well as environmental ones – for retaining some local control over barn conversions in the Yorkshire Dales.”

Charlesworth added: “Our planning policies already support barn conversions for employment uses and will continue to do so – but we do think there should still be an opportunity for local residents to have their say on any new development, and to prevent new intensive uses of barns in the middle of open countryside where there is no existing road access or services. An Article 4 Direction is the only way to do that.”