Skipton Civic Society has branded an inspector's plans for the future development of Skipton as "immensely disappointing".

The Society is keen to ensure that new sites on the edge of the town are not developed, but is worried about the inspector"s report into Craven's Local Plan, a document which will set out policy for the district for the next 15 years.

In its annual report, the Civic Society says none of its requests were met by the inspector except the removal of a policy which would have allowed housing outside development limits provided that they were "innovative".

The report states that "despite obvious over-provision of housing, the inspector recommended extra greenfield sites in Skipton, North Craven and South Craven on the grounds that house buyers required more choice".

The inspector's recommendations were rejected by Craven District Council and are currently at the Department of Environment awaiting a decision.

"It now remains to be seen whether the Minister, for all his talk of using 'brown land', insists on the inspector's recommendations being implemented," states the report.

The Society also noted with pleasure that the nesting boxes put up in Gawflat Meadow, alongside Aireville Park, which is run by the Society, have been occupied. Species such as curlews, swallows, dunnocks, song thrushes, golfinches and bullfinches which the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds reported were giving cause for concern, had all been spotted in the meadow.

A big loss to the society was the death of president Margaret Robinson in June, and tribute is paid in the annual report.

She was a founder member in 1961 and had always played an active role. In the early days the Society had campaigned to secure the designation of Skipton as a conservation area, the first in the West Riding and had pushed for bypasses to relieve traffic in the town.

In the 1970s it campaigned against supermarkets being built in the town centre and other projects include preventing the demolition of Victoria Mill, building paths and steps around the Ginnel, and laying out of the garden area at Mill Bridge.

Mrs Robinson was praised for her knowledge and expertise in preparing the Civic Society's response to planning applications and development plans. She has been succeeded as president by Skipton solicitor John Moody.

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