A CONTROVERSIAL scheme to create more than 100 affordable homes in the Yorkshire Dales has been approved.

Members of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority have voted to press ahead with the draft housing development plan that includes proposals to substantially increase lowcost housing in the park.

Thirty-three sites for potential new homes have been identified.

More than 400 people have taken part in a public consultation on the proposal.

While many residents agree with the need to create more affordable homes in the park, others have criticised the scheme, claiming it will create planning blight in some villages.

David Butterworth, chief executive of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, said: “The draft housing development plan approved on Tuesday by the authority’s planning committee is the latest step in an attempt to increase the supply of affordable housing for local need in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

“We have listened to what people have said and, as a result, changes have been made to the plan. The meeting on Tuesday marks the transition between consultation and the start of formal submission to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.”

Now that authority members have agreed changes after the consultation, a revised plan will be published in the new year.

Further public comments can be made at this stage, although only minor changes will be made.

Mr Butterworth added: “An independent planning inspector will then hold an examination in public to test whether the plan is fit for purpose or not. If the inspector approves it, it will be adopted and used as the policy basis for deciding planning applications for housing over the next 15 years.

Yvonne Peacock, the authority’s member champion for forward planning and the housing working group chairman, said it was unusual for the national park to allocate land for housing.

However, she added: “Affordable housing is the biggest concern residents have and unfortunately we have had to break some eggs to release land to meet this need in the national park.

“The decision taken on Tuesday means we are one step nearer being able to deliver more affordable housing in the national park – and that can only be good news.”