A FRUSTRATED couple, who are selling their house because they are fed up with not being able to park near it, received a further blow this week.

National Park planning committee members unanimously voted against an application submitted by the Rev Colin Price and his wife, Valerie, for a vehicular access over Burnsall Village Green to their home, The Sycamores.

Committee member Peter Walbank said: "The green is part of the village ambience. These people surely moved there knowing there was no right of way to their house."

Meanwhile, member Alec Dinsdale added: "If it was in my village, I wouldn't want to see my village green desecrated either!"

The problem of parking at the house has a long history and a planning application for an access route was submitted in 1983.

Mr and Mrs Price bought the property six years ago, and at that time residents could use the car park behind the Red Lion Hotel. However the arrangement was terminated as the properties changed hands.

Two years later though, permission was granted for local residents to use the field behind the house for parking. However, a court order was subsequently taken out by the occupants of houses adjoining the access road to the field.

In a letter to the planning committee, the couple said the situation was unfair.

They said: "It seems unjust that through no fault of our own we appear to be the only occupants of a house on the green who have been deprived some kind of access to their own property.

"As residents and ratepayers we sometimes have to pay £2 for the privilege of parking our car, not near, but as close as we can get to our own home, while visitors to Burnsall come and park opposite our house, sometimes occupying the space for long periods free of charge."

The couple added that the Village Green Committee, the "ardent protectors of the green and the village amenities", had even given them support.

Also in the planning application, the couple said a plastic grass grid system could be used to lessen any visual detriment to the green.

"The situation is a serious one from the point of view of a resident of The Sycamores, or from someone wanting to buy. Given the lack of public transport, the likelihood of anyone opting to live in such a house in an outlying area such as Burnsall without a car at the present time is negligible," the couple added.

The application was refused on the basis that the proposed access would disrupt the integrity of the village green and detract from the character and appearance of the Burnsall Conservation Area.

After the meeting, Mr Price and his wife said they had no further comments.

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