AN Addingham man could soon become one of the most popular people in the village as he plans to open his own vinery.

Former roofing merchant Dave Barritt has applied to Bradford Council for planning permission to convert a former piggery at Middle Moor Farm on Turner Lane into a vinery.

He wants to create his own chardonnay.

Occasional wine drinker Mr Barritt promises the scheme is not to provide "fuel" for him and his wife Shrelle, but to hopefully turn their interest in wine into a commercial success, perhaps supplying local businesses.

"We're just doing it out of interest. There aren't many vineries around because of the cold climate," he explained.

"At this stage, we're just going to see how it goes. Realistically it's going to take around three years for the grapes to come.

"We have been looking at other similar ventures. We got quite a lot of information from Helmsley Walled Garden, which has a vinery."

If given the green light by planners, Mr Barritt will convert a 30 metre by five metre outbuilding and will install a glass roof and heating to help nurture the plants.

He will start by introducing 12 vines to produce both red and green grapes and, interestingly, he says the roots are planted outside the building and frost actually helps encourage growth - good news for Addingham which has seen snow flurries this week.

Mr Barritt added they would have to come up with a name to represent their new product.