Skipton Castle parking plans approved (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Skipton Castle parking plans approved

6:50pm Saturday 3rd July 2010 in

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Plans to create a new car park at Skipton Castle have been approved despite planning officers recommending refusal.

The application from Sebastian Fattorini, owner of Skipton Castle, was a reduced version of plans for 230 parking spaces which were refused in November.

The new plan, for 193 cars and four coaches, is for land to the north-east of the castle.

Despite the scaled-down version, Craven District Council officers remained against the scheme. They argued the removal of nine mature trees and the impact of the car park on occupants at nearby Bailey Cottage, were unacceptable. They also said the car park would detract from the setting of the Grade I listed castle and nearby buildings.

But Councillor Paul English said the proposals were an “opportunity to take a leap of faith and do something for the town”.

And Coun Carl Lis said: “There has been little doubt from the people outside Skipton that parking is a problem for them if they want to come and visit the town. People are deterred from coming.”

The committee voted by five votes to three to approve the plans.

Conditions will include surface materials and landscaping.