AN appeal to build 10 houses on land in Sutton conservation area has been dismissed by a planning inspector.

Craven District Council originally refused permission for the development on land west of Greenroyd Drive on September 7 last year.

The applicants, Robert and Lynda Summerskill, had sought consent for the demolition of 32 Greenroyd Drive and associated works and the building of the 10 houses.

The report from planning inspector Jillian Rann said the appeal related to part of a large garden of Bay Horse Barn, a former agricultural building now in residential use.

The appeal site and Bay Horse Barn, together with the listed Bay Horse Inn and Orchard Cottage, on the adjacent site are in Sutton conservation.

The inspector said in her report: "The proposed development would create a net increase of nine new dwellings in an existing village, close to community and leisure facilities and with some public transport availability.

"I have regard to support in the Framework for boosting the supply of housing, however, the benefits of nine houses towards housing supply would be relatively modest. There is little before me to suggest that the council has a shortfall in housing land supply, or that its housing need is so acute as to justify or outweigh the harm I have identified to the character and appearance of the conservation area to which I attach considerable weight.

"Therefore, for the reasons given, whilst I do not find harm to the setting of nearby listed buildings, I conclude that the proposed development would cause harm to the character and appearance of the appeal site and its surroundings. I conclude that the appeal should be dismissed on that basis."

The planning inspector also refused an application for an award of costs.