Green light for Wildlife Trust bid

CONTENTIOUS plans for a major expansion of an 18th century nature reserve in one of North Yorkshire’s most sought after villages, have been unanimously approved by councillors.

By The Newsroom

Published 29th Sep 2011, 10:37 BST

The long-running plans for the £475,000 expansion, by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, were accepted by a Harrogate Borough Council planning committee this week on the second time of asking, after a previous application was rejected for provoking a furious reaction among residents in Staveley, near Knaresborough.

Villagers had complained they would be dwarfed by the expansion.

But the re-submitted proposals for Staveley Nature Reserve, with two giant bird hides originally proposed now scaled back to only one with another smaller structure, better parking provision and better disabled access, have met with widespread support.

Work is expected to begin on site in the coming weeks.

A spokeswoman said: “We would like to say a massive thank you to all the local residents who helped and supported us through planning.

“We hope very much that they enjoy the reserve even more when the work is complete.”