LOCALS could be given a helping hand on to the Lake District property ladder by fresh guidelines which will secure them first claim on new housing.

This week Lake District National Park Authority chiefs approved a raft of planning measures which will help to ensure that new developments contribute to local housing needs.

The changes will give local property buyers the upper hand by making it difficult for new housing proposals to gain planning permission unless they include local occupancy clauses.

The measures to tidy up the national park's housing policy were introduced to bring it in line with emerging local and central government legislation.

From January 5 next year, most planning applications to convert non-residential buildings to dwellings, and plans for infill housing developments in larger settlements for example, houses built in gaps between existing properties - will be subject to local occupancy conditions.

Dreams of living out the rural idyll in new rustic barn conversions will also be hit.

A new hierarchy will see business use given priority for such conversions. Only if it is proved that the building is not suitable for business use would local homebuyers then be considered, with outsiders finding themselves bottom of the pile.

The interim policy also tightens up the meaning of the term local occupancy from Cumbria-wide to parish-wide.

Planning officer Norman Atkins said that the new policies would see those with hopes of getting their hands on a second home squeezed out of the picture.

"Instances where we approve dwellings without local occupancy restrictions will be few and far between. In terms of new houses, there are very few that could be acquired as second or holiday homes," he said.

He added: "By introducing these policies, it will ensure that if we do allow barn conversions, it is for local needs and, if a hotel is converted into flats, it is for local needs.

"The policies will also hopefully provide more opportunity for local people to take their first or second step on to the housing ladder."