A SHORTAGE of affordable homes in a "living and working" Lake District community has prompted a group of young villagers to form a pressure group to tackle the problem.

And they have an ally in Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Collins, who has promised to launch a three-pronged assault on the Lake District National Park and central Government to "hammer out" solutions to concerns raised by Coniston residents attending a a public meeting held in the Crown on Saturday afternoon.

Mr Collins heard that young people were drifting away from the village to places like Kendal and Ulverston as they could not afford to live in Coniston because of the high cost of property that was being snapped up by more wealthy people as second homes.

Harry Lakin, 31, who runs a restaurant on Yewdale Road, told Mr Collins that he had recently put in a £146,000 bid to buy a three-bedroom semi-detached property in the village - £20,000 above the asking price which was sold way above what he could afford, although it needed some refurbishment.

Those at the meeting criticised the LDNPA for its strict planning policies.

Mr Collins pointed out that the National Park Authority did a good job preserving all kinds of species, but added: "It would be good to get the National Park to recognise that preserving the human species would be a good idea too.

"They don't seem to realise that communities like Coniston grow and develop and if they don't grow, then they die."

Chris Lawson, who lives at nearby Torver, said 13 years ago he was in a similar position to many of the young people at the meeting but was fortunate enough to inherit a piece of land where he was able to build a house after appealing against a decision by the LDNPA to refuse permission.

He said that he now had a piece of land on which he could build four low cost homes for local people, but claimed he would have difficulty getting planning permission because the LDNPA classed Torver as being open countryside and not a village.

"Torver is a ghost town," he said. "There are people moving out but nobody is moving in. I have two children. Where are they going to go? Where are they going to live? They are going to have to move away, but why should they?"

After the meeting, Mr Collins suggested tackling the problems raised on three fronts:

l Working with the LDNPA to identify areas of suitable building land within Coniston.

l Putting together a joint proposal with the LDNPA for half a dozen or more homes in Coniston that could be

self-built with those involved using their individual skills to bring the project to fruition.

l Tackling central government to see if it would be possible to restrict the flow of people buying second homes in the area by means of further disincentives on top of recent legislation forcing second home owners to pay the full council tax, rather than benefiting from a 50 per cent

rebate.

The meeting was organised by parish and district councillor Anne Hall and was attended by around 30 people. She suggested the formation of the pressure group "to make soundings that we want to keep this generation here.

"It's people from outside who are making the decisions," she said. "There needs to be more consultation with local people at the planning stage before houses are built in the village."

May 22, 2003 14:30