When born and bred is considered to be 'not local enough'

A man has been refused permission to buy a house in the village he grew up in - because he is not local enough.

Harrogate Council told Matt Clark of Summerbridge that he could not buy the former council house, even though his offer was accepted by the vendor.

The authority said he had to have lived or worked in the area for three years immediately before his bid to qualify under recent restrictions.

Mr Clark had moved away from the area for three years to work in Bristol.

But, he said, he spent his entire childhood and most of his adult life in the village.

"Some people have to go away to work and inevitably they want to come back."

Harrogate Council said it did have the power to waive the restriction but it felt the fairest way to make sure the properties were retained for local residents was to abide by the strict wording of the restriction.

With news video.