But Geoff and Sarah Whittington's plans to move into Blazefield, in Bewerley, near Pateley Bridge, went up in smoke – quite literally – in May last year.

Just a day after they had cleared the house in preparation for the move, fire ripped through the roof and top floor, landing them with a repair bill in excess of £250,000.

Architects concluded that a rebuild would be cheaper, so the Whittingtons submitted plans to knock down the house and build another in its place.

Now the scheme is in jeopardy because Government planning guidelines say a house shouldn't be built on the site – even though Blazefield had been there for up to 400 years.

Planning chiefs at Harrogate Council were poised to advise councillors to reject the proposal, but the Whittingtons now hope a slightly amended plan will persuade them to change their minds. They are eager for the scheme to be approved because the house, thought to date back to the 1600s, has been held in a family trust for decades.

Mr Whittington said: "We weren't aware of this Government recommendation; we didn't think there would be any problems and we weren't very happy about it when we heard.

"Sarah's mother has been really panicking and stressed out about it, but we have to fight it because this property means so much to the family.

"Sarah's father died about two years ago and he is buried in a field near the house, which is another reason why we want to move there."

Mrs Whittington's parents first rented Blazefield about 40 years ago and later went on to buy the house and its 18-acre estate with barn. The house was used mainly as a summer home until about 10 years ago, when they decided to live there all year round.

They moved out again when foot and mouth disease spread to the region in 2000, and the house was used for summer vacations again.

But the Whittingtons want to live there permanently and they were well on the way to moving in when disaster struck.

Mr Whittington said: "We were going to move in last summer, and over the early May bank holiday weekend we were clearing the place to ready it up, redecorate and replace a few doors and windows.

"The fire happened the very next night; the fire brigade were fairly confident that it started in the chimney and we presume that a spark went up the chimney and then got whipped up by the wind."

Although Blazefield had stood for centuries, its planning status went up in flames when the fire broke out.

Council officers recommended that the rebuild plan should be refused because Government guidance advises councils to "resist the creation of a new dwelling in the countryside away from shops, services and other facilities".

Councillors were due to consider the issue on June 3, but the matter has been deferred to a future meeting after planners decided to look at the Government guidance again.

The Whittingtons' agent Chris Robinson, a chartered building surveyor, said: "They wanted to interpret it more favourably, and I've amended the plan to make the house smaller than it was.

"Hopefully the council will now be able to recommend the plan for approval; we feel that it is more in keeping with the original and not quite as bulky as it was."

Under the new plan, the house would be about a foot narrower than previously envisaged, slightly reducing its total "footprint" on the site.

Mr Robinson said he submitted the amended proposal on Tuesday and hoped it would be considered by the council's planning committee at a meeting next month.