CONTROVERSIAL plans to increase council tax by five-fold on second homes in the Yorkshire Dales has been debated on live TV.

BBC’s The Big Questions focused on proposals by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA), which were met with fierce opposition.

They hope the increase in council tax would encourage working age people and families back into the dales, sustaining local services such as schools.

Authority officials and councillors were welcomed on the Sunday morning show, hosted by Nicky Campbell.

David Butterworth, YDNPA chief executive, said: “One in four houses are semi-occupied which is causing problems within the area.”

He hopes the rise will place more homes back into permanent occupancy, deter people buying second homes and make up for economic spending in the area.

There are 1,500 second homes in the Yorkshire Dales – more than ten per cent of the housing stock.

However, John Blackie, the county councillor for the Upper Dales, described the plans as a “fallacy”.

He voted against the council tax increase, and believes the plans would not gain the expected results, as young people would still struggle to be the buyers.

Despite criticism, Mr Butterworth added: “You can’t determine what the results of a five-year pilot is before you actually start the pilot.”

Depending on the outcome of discussions and votes with local authorities, a final proposal will be drawn up and the YDNPA will take a second vote to put to the Government.