THE picturesque image of Rosedale, the moorland village which is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the North York Moors, hides a series of problems, according to residents.

They are now carrying out a survey of life in the community to explore such issues as isolation, lack of public transport, second and holiday homes, and the high cost of property, which is forcing people to leave the dale.

Parish clerk John Sugden said there had been several hundred responses to a drop- in event held in the village school.

A steering committee had been set up to create a plan for the village, helped by the Countryside Agency.

Only eight per cent of Rosedale residents are aged between 18 and 29, compared with the national average of 18 per cent, because of the lack of employment and affordable housing.

Mr Sugden said: "One of the main concerns is that people brought up in the dale are not able to stay there because of the high cost of property and the fact that a third of houses in Rosedale are either second homes or holiday homes."

Organisations in the village that are involved in the study include the school, he said.

Mr Sugden said it was hoped that a parish plan would put forward ideas on how some of the problems facing the village could be resolved.