AMBITIOUS plans for a 60-foot dining and restaurant boat to be moored and operated in Skipton have been sunk by planners.

The proposals were thrown out by Craven Council officers who said the boat would make too much noise.

They said the vessel - which would run on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal from the town's Rendezvous Hotel - would 'result in an unacceptable impact on the health and quality of life of existing occupants by the way of noise nuisance'.

But hotel owner Malcolm Weaving disagrees, and has hit out over the decision.

He says with the plan he believes he has 'found the Holy Grail' to boost trade over winter.

Mr Weaving admits he was shocked the plans were refused without any debate and is determined to carry on with the £300,000 boat which is currently being built in Lancashire to a high specification.

"It will be a wonderful sight - the Orient Express of the canal, and in Orient Express colours too," he told the Herald.

"I was shocked it was thrown out.

"It complies with the Maritime and Coast Guard Agency. It will be fully sound-proofed and lined with Protec marine insulation board and 50mm of rockwool insulation which is encased in a cement particle board which has a sound reduction to airborne levels of 31.

"The windows, which will not open, are constructed from 6mm of toughened glass in 25mm of double glazed panels and a 4mm toughened internal glass.

"The all-electric boat - unique to any other hotel, probably in the country, and the first on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal - is silent, being propelled by a 20kw marine water-cooled motor mounted on an anti-vibration box.

"The Eco Swan, as she will be called, will have no mechanical noises.

"We have 96 bedrooms at this hotel, half of which face the canal. The last thing I would want is for my guests to be disturbed by noise. There won't be any noise.

"I am the licensee of the hotel and I therefore will not condone any additional noise from the moorings and risk having my licence revoked."

Mr Weaving said the idea had been okayed by the Canal and River Trust. There would be a fully qualified skipper on board with a trained crew of hotel staff who will be in charge.

He expects a lot of the parties using the boat would be for corporate gatherings, executive dinners and other functions.

"We have already had five trial trips by hiring a boat on five occasions and taking guests on trial runs," he said. "The feedback from them was 100 per cent positive towards the enjoyment of the experience and whether they would recommend the experience to others.

"The hotel is only half full in January and February and I really feel like I have found the Holy Grail for the business between these months.

"The boat would not only be good for us but good for the whole of Skipton.

"Currently we generate around 26,000 room nights a year. Some of the guests have never been to Skipton before and we hope the experience they have here will encourage them to come back.

"We anticipate the boat will generate hotel stays at the quiet times of the year, and in turn bring extra trade to venues and businesses in the town which is what Skipton BID is all about.

"Skipton has many unique features - it has the castle and the canal basin. Lots of visitors don't even know the canal basin is there and this sort of experience is likely to encourage them to revisit and spend more time in the town."

Designed by Thomas Randell, a business partner of the Rendezvous, the boat resembles a canal narrow boat and measures 60 feet long and 14 feet wide.

Mr Randell said the boat would run for a maximum of six hours in any 24 hours before needing to be recharged.

The boat is expected to be completed by the end of summer.

Mr Weaving said he was going to resubmit the plans as soon as possible.

The application attracted four letters of objection citing potential noise nuisance and nuisance to other towpath users.

Planners said the project contravened emerging planning policy ENV11 associated to waterways.

A spokesman for Craven District Council told the Herald they did not want to say anything further at this stage.