REPAIRING traditional barns and dry stone walls in the Yorkshire Dales has injected up to £9m into the local economy, according to a report released yesterday (Mon June 4).

Restoration projects under agri-environment and conservation grant schemes between 1998 and 2004 also created 74 jobs.

The study, Building Value, which was commissioned by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and English Heritage, found that more than 500 farm buildings and 191 km of dry stone walls were restored over the six years.

Researchers concluded that, for every £1 spent on barn repairs, £2.48 was brought into the local economy; the figure was £1.92 for wall repairs.

This means that between £7m and £9m went into the local economy, with a further £2.5m from tourists visiting the area.

The report was launched yesterday (Mon June 4) at a 19th century barn in Healaugh, in Swaledale, which was restored under Defra's Pennine Dales Environmentally Sensitive Area scheme.

Rotten timbers were replaced and the building re-roofed, allowing it to be used for hay storage by farmers Steve and Carol Porter.

"Schemes to repair barns and walls have given work to local builders and kept traditional skills alive, such as roofing with slates," said Mr Porter.

The creation of new jobs ploughed money into local shops, pubs and garages, and the schemes boosted business for local building merchants and suppliers.

The social, economic and public benefits of the projects were assessed by ADAS UK and the countryside and community research unit of Gloucestershire University.

The research examined six schemes - jointly providing more than £6.7m of grants from 1998 to 2004 - under which farmers and landowners can apply for funding to restore traditional buildings and walls.

The study looked at benefits such as job creation, local spending, support for craft skills, advantages to farm businesses and landscape enhancement, from the perspective of residents and visitors.

It found that, without the grant schemes, three-quarters of the buildings which were repaired would have become derelict. Before restoration, a third were unused and the work provided an extra 40,000 square metres for storage and livestock housing.