PLANS to build affordable homes in Grassington have been deferred for a second time by the planning committee of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority.

Despite calls from members to judge the planning application for eight homes on Garrs End Lane on the evidence given, the committee agreed by 12 votes to four to defer the decision to allow the planning officers to look at another possible site.

During the discussions, member Graham Dalton asked whether Craven District Council would be prepared to sell an area of open space in Hardy Meadows below the market value.

In the evidence submitted by the applicant Home Housing, reference was made to early discussions with planning officers about this site.

It stated: "It has been reiterated that the site cannot be considered for development." Currently the area is a designated public space in the Local Plan.

The applicant added that the land was owned by Craven District Council and if it was disposed of "it would have to be offered at full market value to ensure the council was getting best value for its assets. This would certainly exclude the land from being economic to develop for local needs housing".

However, in light of the committee decision, Jim Shepherd, of Home Housing, told the Herald that he would look at the possible implications of locating the development to this site, including the impact on traffic.

Speaking in favour of the application, chairman of Grassington Parish Council Eric Rowley said that Grassington had always been a working village, but as tourism had taken over as the main industry the amount of homes available in the village had been taken up by second homes or holiday cottages.

He accepted that the Garrs End Lane site was a flower rich meadow but pointed out that there were lots of other such fields around the village. "I think that we can spare half an acre of this ground," he said.

Many other residents living in this part of the village spoke of their concerns about access to the site and the danger that any increase in traffic could bring. Others suggested that the National Park should be doing all it could to preserve the landscape of the park.

Andrew Earnshaw, spokesman for the Garrs End Lane Conservation Group, said the application had completely split the village. "This is the wrong site for any development," he said.

He said that the houses would not be in sympathy with the surroundings and creating extra passing places on the stone-walled lane would affect its character.

Some residents had also raised concerns about the validity of the Housing Needs Survey carried out in 2002.

Head of planning Peter Watson said that he did not believe that there could be any doubt there was housing need in this area and he was sure eight families could be found to live in these houses.

A representative from Craven District Council, the housing authority for this area, said that land registry figures for Grassington from October to December 2004 showed that the average price of a terraced property was £253,428. This compared to the average salary in Craven of £26,330 per year.

She said that 50 per cent of the council stock in this parish had been lost through the right to buy. The last time the council was able to house someone in Grassington was 1997.

Craven committee members John Sayer and Shelagh Marshall both spoke in favour of the application.

Mr Sayer said access to the site was safe if driven with care, which was true of most roads.

He said that while it may be possible to suggest alternative locations "the fact remains that this is the only available site".

"If this application does not get approval we have lost the opportunity for housing in the largest village in the southern part of the national park. In the meantime people will have left the area," he said.

Mrs Marshall said: "I would suggest that local need has been surely proven."

She added that the committee could see the lengths to which the applicant had gone to ensure there were no other alternative sites.

The committee will discuss the application for four two bedroom homes and four three bedroom homes at a future meeting.