The Yorkshire Dales Local Plan 2025–2040: What Landowners Need to Know

Planning rules are changing. The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority is currently preparing its new Local Plan for 2025–2040, and it will shape what kind of development is allowed across the Dales for the next 15 years.

For landowners, understanding these changes is crucial. The Local Plan will influence whether your land has potential for housing, business use, or community development — and how likely it is to secure planning consent.

What is a Local Plan?

Every Local Authority (including National Park Authorities) sets a long-term strategy for land use in its area. The Local Plan sets out:

• Where new homes, businesses, and services can go.

• Which sites are protected for environmental, landscape, or heritage reasons.

• Policies that guide the scale and design of development.

Why the 2025–2040 Plan Matters

The Yorkshire Dales faces unique challenges:

• Housing needs – supporting local communities with affordable, well-designed homes.

• Landscape protection – ensuring new schemes respect the character of the Dales.

• Sustainability – balancing growth with climate and environmental targets.

For landowners, the new plan may open up opportunities in some locations while tightening restrictions in others.

What This Means for Landowners

1. Early identification is key – sites aligned with future housing and employment needs stand the best chance of success.

2. Design matters – proposals that are sensitive to setting, heritage, and sustainability are more likely to gain support.

3. Partnerships help – working with a promotion partner like YPP ensures your land is assessed against the new policies and positioned for success.

How YPP Can Help

At Yorkshire Planning Partners, we:

• Track Local Plan changes closely and assess their impact on land potential.

• Prepare design-led proposals that respond to evolving policy.

• Guide landowners through the process with clarity and expertise.

Next Steps

If you own land in the Yorkshire Dales or North Yorkshire and are unsure how the new Local Plan might affect it, now is the time to seek advice.

Contact Yorkshire Planning Partners for a no-obligation discussion about your site’s potential under the 2025–2040 Local Plan.