THE planned residential conversion of a former cattle shed in Austwick has been refused after councillors heard only little of the original building remained.

Approval of the conversion of the 'shippon' at Willow Tree, much of which had already been rebuilt, would send out the wrong message to other owners of tumbledown barns, heard Craven District Council's planning committee.

Councillors were however split on whether to go along with policy and government planning guidelines or approve conversion.

The former, single storey shippon formed part of a group of farm buildings which had been in residential use for 35 years, the committee was told.

Planning officers said it had been rebuilt by more than 70 percent ahead of a planning application being submitted - in contrast to the owner's agent who claimed re-building had been less than half.

Cllr Carl Lis said a decision seemed to hinge on how much of the barn had been rebuilt and that the issue was something of a 'quandary'.

Cllr Robert Heseltine said it was part of a group of residential buildings and felt its eventual conversion to a home would have less impact on the countryside than the hundreds of new homes proposed for green field sites around Skipton.

But planning manager, Neville Watson said it was evident that the degree of rebuilding was unacceptable in policy terms and that as such it represented development in the open countryside.

He added there were plenty corners of fields where buildings could be found with one, two or three walls just remaining.

"In this particular case, the committee would be condoning reconstruction without planning permission," he said.

Committee chairman Alan Sutcliffe said the committee had a duty to uphold planning policy and this was a building which had been almost entirely rebuilt without planning permission.

And Cllr Stephen Place said approval would send out the wrong message.

"I do a lot of walking in Bronte country. If every shippon was rebuilt, from the ground up in some cases, it would decimate the landscape that everyone enjoys. It would destroy everything I value, I would not like to see such a proliferation of new build," he said.

Councillors refused permission for the shippon 's conversion on grounds including it was sporadic, unjustified development in the open countryside.