VILLAGERS in Carleton are up in arms about a plan to demolish a defunct historic chapel to make way for three new two bedroom terraced houses.

Opponents are already backed by Carleton Parish Council and the Ancient Monuments Society which describes the building as pivotal within the village conservation area.

A planning application lodged with Craven District Council is proposing to pull down the disused Old Chapel Garage in Vicar's Row and replace it with three houses. More recently it has been used for storage and a garage.

Removal of the 157 year-old former non-conformist building standing among terraced houses and close a listed pub and former mill would add nothing to the site and increase parking problems in already congested streets, said a spokesman for opponents.

"While too much altered to be protected by listing, it adds to the character of the village like many former chapels, barns and outbuildings we see in Craven villages. A shocking precedent would be set if it is allowed to be demolished.

"The old chapel would convert to one or two fine houses, parking could be accommodated on the site and the conservation area enhanced by the improved appearance of the building."

Web designer, Jake Richard, who lives in Chapel Street overlooking the building, said: "This is a loved building. There's huge opposition to its demolition - people want it converted and its intrinsic historic value maintained."

And six more cars in the area would have a huge impact on the already saturated parking situation.

The parish council wants to see the building converted in a similar manner to that of the former Wesleyan chapel in Beckside, Carleton.

If that proved impractical because of the state of the building, parish councillors want the development limited to a terrace of two homes especially taking into account parking problems nearby.

A spokesman for The Ancient Monuments Society, which campaigns to save historic buildings, said: "We consider it a pivotal building within the conservation area with a simple unpretentious design and occasional gothic touches, the presumption must surely lie with retention of this characterful building."

People wanting to comment can do so by logging on to www.planning.cravendc.gov.uk before the deadline of Friday, February 3.