SECOND home owners in the Yorkshire Dales could see the council tax on their properties increase five-fold in a bid to reverse the exodus of young people.

The radical proposal by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA) aims to encourage working age people and families back into the dales, which has 1,500 second homes.

Members of the authority voted for the move on Tuesday (December 19).

They said it would work by "encouraging some existing homes back into full-time occupancy, discouraging the purchase of further second homes and ensuring that remaining second home owners are making a similar 'socio-economic contribution' to the local area as permanent residents".

It makes the YDNPA the first local authority to offer in principle support for such a five-year pilot scheme.

Chairman Carl Lis said: "The vote shows that the authority is committed to trying to address the serious issues facing Dales communities. It demonstrates that we are not prepared to sit idly by and watch their slow decline.

"There is a strong demand for labour in the park, unemployment barely exists. The problem is that many employers cannot afford to pay the sort of wages you need to buy a home in the Dales, which carry price tags inflated by the second homes market.

"Second home owners do put money into the local economy by employing builders to do up their properties, and using local and retail services. But permanent residents would very likely contribute much more, and in any case, do we want the Dales to have a second homes economy? I think we can do much better than that.

"I recognise that the particular proposals about second homes are controversial. A number of members raised concerns today and we will take those into account in our forthcoming discussions with local authority partners. We need to show that we can get the detail right - and we now have the opportunity to do that."

Meetings with local authorities in the park to discuss the measure are expected to take place in the new year.

Depending on the outcome of those discussions and votes, the specific proposal will be drawn up and the YDNPA will take a second vote on the fully developed proposal to put to Government.

YDNPA member Yvonne Peacock, leader of Richmondshire District Council, said: “I am 100 per cent behind these proposals. A few years ago there were 70 children on the rolls of the school in Bainbridge where I live. Now the number is only 25.

"One of the reasons for that is undoubtedly that local families are priced out of the housing market – and the growth in second homes has played a big part in that.

“It is so important that we keep our communities vibrant and unfortunately there are simply too many second homes. But the second homes proposal is only one part of the jigsaw and I hope people can see that.”