Robin Hood's Bay named as one of Yorkshire's favourite beauty spots

A new poll has revealed the beauty spots that residents in Yorkshire are most proud of are the Yorkshire Dales, Robin Hood’s Bay and the Three Peaks.

This comes as the poll of 200 Yorkshire adults also found that more than 9 in 10 (93%) consider it important to have an area of natural beauty close to where they live.

The main reason for this is that having green spaces and areas of conservation are good for the environment (29%), while 21% enjoy showing them off to visitors, and 14% say they’re good for mental health.

Streams and rivers (55%), hills and mountains (50%) and lakes (38%) are the top features that people in Yorkshire think make an area beautiful.

And more than eight in ten (84%) say no matter where you go in the world, it’s hard to beat the beauty of Britain’s green spaces.

While people in Yorkshire love living near areas of natural beauty, in contrast nearly two in five (38%) would like to live away from a motorway while 9% would prefer to live away from a factory.

More than seven in ten (72%) believe power stations in particular ruin beautiful views of the countryside.

The research, commissioned by Smart Energy GB, follows the publication of a new report by energy experts Cornwall Insight, which finds that if households become more flexible in how and when they use electricity, Britain could avoid the need to build the equivalent of four new gas-fired power stations in 2030, saving more than £2.5 billion.

Embracing flexible electricity initiatives that rely on smart meters such as time-of-use tariffs and shifting some electricity usage away from peak times (typically weekdays between 4pm and 7pm) would also remove the need for nearly a billion pounds worth of additional infrastructure upgrades in 2030, according to the new report.

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