Pickles refuses plea by councils to cancel Art 4 direction issued by park authority

Richmondshire District Council and North Yorkshire Country Council have failed to persuade the Communities Secretary to block an Article 4 direction issued by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority.

Members of the national park authority voted in March 2014 to introduce a direction removing permitted development rights (PDRs) that would have allowed the conversion of barns and other agricultural buildings to flexible commercial uses without the need for planning permission.

The park authority argued that the PDRs would have a potential negative impact on the area and remove the rights of local communities, through the planning process, to have a say on what happens in their area.

Richmondshire and North Yorkshire asked Eric Pickles to intervene and require the park authority to cancel the direction.

They claimed that the national park authority was acting contrary to the desire of central and local government to stimulate economic growth in rural areas. The Yorkshire Dales would be "at odds with the planning regime operating everywhere else in the country”, the two authorities added.

Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority Chairman Peter Charlesworth said: “We welcome the decision of the Government to support the National Park Authority’s stance on this matter – it is a victory for localism. 

“It is important to say again that the Article 4 Direction does not mean traditional barns or modern farm buildings cannot be converted to commercial uses.”

He added: “Indeed, the National Park Authority is very supportive of re-using existing buildings but we – and the Government through its decision – recognise that the special landscape in which these thousands of barns sit means that some proposals still need local scrutiny rather than just ‘going through on the nod’."