THE stunning landscapes of the Yorkshire Dales are undoubtedly one of the most beloved in Britain, a delight to the eye and an inspiration for generations.

But what makes them so and how do you ensure their place in the nation’s heart continues without preserving the area in some form of environmental aspic?

Although the Dales are a huge draw for tourism, holidays – however profitable - are not their only purpose - they are also home to many who live and work there and, importantly, want to continue to do so.

So it can only be welcomed that planning guidelines look set to be changed to make it easier to allow hundreds of what are effectively crumbling old ruins to be turned into homes.

The National Park’s planning team is now actively looking at its strategy for sustainable development in the area, working on a local plan that will ultimately guide decisions potentially worth many millions of pounds.

Part of it involves those dilapidated old barns that are so much part of the landscape, making it easier for conversion work to be carried out.

It is an attempt to give new life to redundant traditional buildings while also providing housing that is really needed to encourage people, particularly the young, remain in the area.

And rather than having the barns simply turned into weekend homes for affluent city folk, the priority would be firmly set on creating homes for local people.

Of course it is only right that any projects would have to be carried out in a suitable sympathetic fashion to ensure they are in keeping with the surrounding countryside.

But without thinking to the future and considering the needs of those who make the Dales a living and breathing entity, the heart of the park could be in real danger of withering away.