RUMOURS of a potential cafe opening at Langliffe Quarry Enterprise Centre near Settle have been confirmed by North Yorkshire Council.

Buildings at the former limeworks and quarry were used as a waste depot for the former Craven District Council before a major £3.5m redevelopment was completed last year to turn the site into a business centre.

Councillors on the Skipton and Ripon area committee of the council heard at a meeting in Skipton last Thursday that six of the eight stand alone units are now occupied, leaving the two largest industrial units still to be let.

Settle councillor David Staveley (Con, Ribblesdale) said there had been rumours of a private business opening a cafe there which has been “causing a lot of excitement” locally.

Sharon Sunter, economic development manager at North Yorkshire Council, confirmed there were ongoing discussions about a coffee shop opening but said it would be subject to planning permission.

A Crowdfunding campaign has been launched to raise money for the potential cafe, which would be called Barnhouse Coffee. A link is available at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/langcliffe-cafe The campaign is hoping to raise £3,500 towards renovation works. It’s hoped the business would serve up homemade cakes, pastries, hot drinks and light lunches.

Meanwhile, the approved planning application for the business park includes the preservation of three historic kilns at the site as they offer an insight into Yorkshire’s lime-working industry in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They include a Hoffman Kiln, built in 1873 and one of only seven left of its type in the UK. The site has also gained new significance as an important habitat for often rare and unusual birds and bats, proving a draw to visitors.

The project to create a new tourist trail will see improved paths, information panels and listening posts installed as well as lost features reestablished such as tramway rails.

Ms Sunter said that a bid worth £155,000 to the government’s Shared Prosperity Fund has been accepted and work could be completed by March 2025.

Historic England has approved works at the site, information panels are currently being made and the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust has been commissioned to draw up designs to improve footpaths.

Cllr Andy Solloway (Ind,  Skipton West and West Craven) said he was pleased that the bid for government funding was successful. He said: “Craven got hardly any shared prosperity money previously so I’m pleased this has redressed the balance.”

The facility, which lies next to the Settle-Carlisle railway, was funded by Craven District Council, York & North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).