THE owners of a Dales farmhouse heaved a sigh of relief this week with the news they would not be taken to court for renovating their grade II listed building without planning consent.

The decision not to take action against Michael and Mary Myers for carrying out work at Angram Farmhouse, Halton Gill, was taken by members of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority on Tuesday.

The majority voted against planning officer advice to prosecute the couple, which could have left them facing a possible fine of up to £20,000.

The historic 18th century farmhouse has been in Mary Myers' family for at least a century. When her father signed the building over to her in 1989, she rented it out to an elderly man.

He died shortly afterwards and Mrs Myers and her husband, Michael, a retired builder, decided the house needed renovating.

Over a decade the couple spent £20,000 on the farmhouse, but in February 1999, the national park authority was told that the works were being carried out without listed building consent.

The couple said they knew the building was listed, but had not known they needed permission for the work. Mr Myers said they had received a leaflet back in 1996 but it had not been very clear.

When they submitted a retrospective planning application in June, it was refused and they were told they would face legal proceedings for removing historical features.

At Tuesday's meeting, the authority's planning officer Peter Watson said no new information had been brought forward and members were advised to vote for prosecution.

And building conservation officer Graham Darlington warned members they must not let listed buildings "become the domestic equivalents of theme pubs".

He said the works carried out had caused considerable damage to the special character of the listed building, which would be impossible to replace.

He added the authority had a responsibility to take action when an offence had been committed.

However, Stephen Butcher said: "I feel very strongly that a mountain has been made out of a molehill, and to prosecute Mr Myers is not going to add to the authority's reputation one iota.

"I seriously suggest that scores of listed buildings in Littondale and further afield, in much better condition than Angram, have had alterations done and none of the owners has been prosecuted.

"To pick on Mr Myers would appear perverse in the extreme and certainly smacks of double standards. Where is the consistency in all this?

"Ignorance is no defence, but I do think that as 'built heritage' is a primary concern of the national park authority, it should do far more to remind people of their obligations than the sending of a pamphlet once in 10 years.

"We are not looking at some wealthy second home buyer or a property developer willing to ride roughshod over regulations but at a couple of decent law-abiding people who thought they were doing the best for the building."

Member Kevin Lancaster added if the couple had not carried out the work on the building it would have ended up as a ruin.

Members of the authority were also asked to take into account a letter of support from villager Anthea Cowan, whose father-in-law was the last tenant at Angram Farmhouse.

She described in a letter how sandstone floors had been patched with concrete by previous occupants and the floorboards were dangerous with damp, woodworm and decay.

But member Nancy Stedman told members: "You have to acknowledge that this authority is forced to take action when these infringements occur. We would be open to accusations of inconsistency, bias and favouritism if we did not take action."

Nine members voted in favour of not prosecuting the couple, with six members voting against.

Mr and Mrs Myers said after the meeting: "We'd just like to thank everyone for helping us along the way and for letting common sense prevail. We just hope nothing like this happens again."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.