A SECOND home ban on properties in the North York Moors would not be practical, according to Ryedale MP John Greenway.
He said that any shortage of homes for local families would not be addressed by banning people from buying up second homes in the park.
The MP's comments came amid reports today that Exmoor National Park is set to introduce planning restrictions preventing people buying second homes in the park.
The park authority wants to force homeowners to apply for planning permission if their property stands empty for more than six months a year.
In areas where the proportion of second homes exceeds ten per cent, permission would be refused.
But statistics published by a national newspaper, have revealed there are around 23,000 second homes in the Yorkshire region alone.
"A ban on owning second properties here would not work," said Mr Greenway.
"A lot of these homes are too expensive for local people to buy so it's not as if a ban would increase the number of homes available to them.
"When you go around some of these properties, some of them are empty but there is no way of telling whether the people are living there.
"If there is a problem with a shortage of homes for young local families this needs to be addressed in another way, not by banning people from buying second homes."
Updated: 11:20 Wednesday, September 05, 2001
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