Cattle will be subjected to “less stress” thanks to a new livestock building at a farm, it has been claimed.

Farmer Robert Wade, of New Laithe Farm, off Station Road, Cross Hills, near Keighley, said the additional building was needed to meet ministry safety regulations for cattle.

He told the planning committee of Craven District Council that the farm could not meet the regulations without the new building and it would allow him to maintain the demand for meat from the family-run butchers in Cross Hills.

Councillors heard that residents had been concerned about the original siting of the structure, which had now been changed, and the keeping of pigs at the farm, which had caused issues earlier in the year.

But Mr Wade said he had no wish to upset people in Cross Hills and added that the recently-built farm no longer kept pigs.

“We cannot keep cattle safely and meet regulations without this building,” he said.

The application was approved.