LANDMARK plans for the first affordable houses to rent in a deeply rural Dales community have been submitted for approval to a national park authority.
The proposal, for four new homes in Arkengarthdale, near Reeth, is the first of its kind for the isolated community which has seen school numbers dwindle significantly over recent years.
The planning application has been submitted by the Upper Dales Community Land Trust (UDCLT), a registered housing trust and informal association between the Upper Dales Community Partnership (UDCP) which operates a number of local services including the Post Office and filling station in Hawes, and The Little White Bus service, and Arkengarthdale Parish Council.
It is the culmination of 10 months of frenetic activity for UDCLT, which has included locating a site suitable for development in Langthwaite.
The group organised a housing need survey which had a 43 per cent return rate, and uncovered a desperate need for affordable housing to rent.
North Yorkshire County Councillor John Blackie, volunteer chairman for the UDCP, said: “I am tremendously excited by the prospect of providing these four desperately needed affordable houses to rent in perpetuity in Arkengarthdale, a deeply rural and extremely remote iconic Dale. They are long overdue."
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