THE Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA) has allowed a Dales barn at Moorside Farm, Hebden to be converted into a family home.

At the authority’s planning committee meeting last month the members made it clear they wanted to approve the application at Moorside Farm, Hebden, though the park's monitoring officer, Gill Cooper, told them that the reasons they had given were not legally acceptable.

She repeated her advice at the planning committee meeting on Tuesday, November 11, but did accept that there might be exceptional personal circumstances.

Peter Charlesworth, who is chairman of the authority, thanked the head of development management, Richard Graham, for meeting the family to discuss those personal circumstances and added: “In my view it is justified for us as a committee to say these are truly acceptable circumstances which enable us to justify departure from policy. I appreciate that Richard Graham doesn’t think they are.”

He explained that when the farmer died two years ago his widow had gone to live with her daughter and son-in-law in Skipton. But she wanted to return to her family home. The farmhouse, however, was in need of renovation and her daughter and son-in-law wanted to be there to support her.

Mr Charlesworth said: “We (now) have a situation where we can allow this farming family to move back to Hebden, renovate the house and convert the barn.

“In my view it’s a win situation for the national park. We are desperate to keep young people in the dales.”

North Yorkshire county councillor John Blackie was among those who agreed with him. Coun Blackie said: “We need to hang on to our young families, otherwise in a generation or two many of the communities in the Yorkshire Dales National Park will collapse.”

Like Mr Charlesworth he disagreed with the advice given by a legal counsel. He added: “Another barrister might have given an alternate view.”

North Yorkshire county councillor Shelagh Marshall reminded the committee that the authority also had a duty to foster the economic and social well-being of the area.

When it came to the vote two members abstained, with the majority approving the application for the conversion of the barn to a house for local occupancy with ancillary office space.

ARC News Service