PLANS for new toilets for Kettlewell have been approved by the national park's planning committee despite several objections from local residents and business owners.

The design incorporates a community office, a covered bus shelter, ranger's office and public transport information.

Craven District Council has given a grant of £100,000 towards the development of the toilets. Additional funding will come from other sources including North Yorkshire County Council.

The national park has received letters of support for the scheme, including one from Ray Wilkes, of the Yorkshire Dales Public Transport Users Group

He said the group would strongly welcome the proposal. "It is well established that adequate waiting facilities are necessary to attract people to use bus services and that bus users spend more per head than people arriving by car."

But not everyone was happy with the proposal.

A letter of objection was received from Colin and Lesley Barguss, of the Racehorses Hotel, who argued the development would be detrimental to their business with six of their letting bedrooms and restaurant overlooking the toilets.

Jayne Smith, owner of The Cottage Tearoom, also objected to the plans. She queried the need for a community office and also suggested the existing toilets could simply be modernised.

At Tuesday's national park meeting, members discussed the application after attending a site visit on January 4.

Member Jerry Pearlman said: "The toilets in Kettlewell are substandard and there is no doubt the village could do with an improved toilet."

However, he added that there was not the bus service running in Wharfedale to warrant a "prestigious bus shelter" like the one proposed.

He also pointed out that Kettlewell was only seven miles away from Grassington where there was already accommodation for a ranger.

Nancy Stedman said: "I do think it's important, this application being such a critical location in a little village, that we get it right.

"I think we are in danger of introducing an over-large building in a very prominent position."

Roger Harrison-Topham said: "No-one disputes there is a need for public toilets - what we are talking about is the location. Placing them where proposed will be an aesthetic disaster.

"The Racehorses is a distinguished building and we are proposing to put before it a piece of what is 'supermarket rustic'."

But member Alex Bentley was all in favour of the application, as were the majority of members on the committee.

He said: "There is a need. Vehicles coming through from Leeds and Bradford do not necessarily stop at Grassington.

" The toilets at Kettlewell are a disgrace - a diabolical mess.

"As far as a site for a ranger is concerned, there are many many times when you need a national park ranger up in our dale. I have lived in the dale for 20 years and you just don't know where to go to find a park ranger."

Allen Kirkbride said: "I'm in favour of approving the application. The toilet block is badly needed in the park. It's off a main road and an awful lot of traffic passes through Wharfedale and up through the park.

"The site is handy for people to use, it's only a single storey building and will be hidden from the Racehorses by trees in full leaf in the summer."

David Ireton said: "It's a very much needed facility in Kettlewell. I was involved at Craven District Council at the start of negotiations with the national park.

"The site that the toilets are on now is completely inadequate for disabled facilities so we had to find a new site. Possibly there's never a perfect place for a toilet block and there's always complaints about them wherever they are put."

Park chairman Steve Macare said: "This application has been the result of extensive consultation within Kettlewell.

"As David Ireton said it was recognised a long time ago that that toilets were a long standing source of complaint and negotiations started with Craven District Council to replace them in whatever way.

"The local parish council supports this application as do local members and the vast majority of the people living in Kettlewell. It's not surprising that the adjoining properties object - neighbours will always object to this type of application."

Now the proposal has been approved the national park authority hopes the facility will be built during this financial year.