THE owners of a £300,000 electric restaurant boat - the Graceful Swan - are determined it will be launched on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in Skipton in January, despite being twice refused planning permission by Craven District Council.

In March, and again in August, Malcolm Weaving, owner of Skipton’s Rendezvous Hotel, and his business partner, Thomas Randell had their plan to run the 60ft long boat on the canal refused because of potential noise and its impact on residential properties.

At the sometimes bad tempered meeting in August, when both Mr Weaving and Mr Randell were warned of their behaviour by the committee solicitor, councillors agreed that the boat, intended for private, tourist and commercial hire, could disrupt the peace of the canal and that more discussions needed to take place with officers before it could be approved.

Now, Mr Weaving, and his planning advisor, David Pinner, have applied for a ‘certificate of lawfulness’ from the council, instead of submitting a planning application, and say they will take their fight to the Planning Inspectorate, if the council does not grant them the certificate.

They say deadline for the council to respond is tomorrow (Wednesday) and even if its not allowed - and they are told they will have to apply once again for planning permission - they plan to forge ahead anyway, because they believe they have acted properly by working with the Maritime and Coast Guard Agency.

“Thomas and I agreed it was in the hotel’s and town’s best interest to operate a restaurant conference boat, but not just a boat, one of cutting edge technology,” Mr Weaving told the committee in August.

A council spokesman said: “We are awaiting legal advice before determining the application for a Lawful Development Certificate.”