A FIRM housing two Latvian men in a caravan because they find it difficult to recruit local workers has been told it can keep the makeshift home on site for six months.

RE Duffield and Sons Ltd, based at the timber yard in Melmerby, near Ripon, applied to Harrogate Borough Council for permission to retain the caravan on site for five years.

At a previous area planning meeting, councillors resisted planning officers' advice and granted permission for the caravan to be used as a home for 12 months.

Councillors had to review the plan after defying planning officers and, at the latest meeting, councillors granted permission for six months.

Because the caravan has already been on site for some time, the permission is expected to end soon.

The applicant told planners that for the past 12 months they had tried to increase their workforce, advertising locally without success.

Because bed and breakfast accommodation in Ripon would be too costly, the company decided a caravan would provide a home as well as on-site security.

Richard Cooper, cabinet member for planning, told the committee there was no justification for the house in a countryside setting.

He said: "It is totally against policy and, if approved, even for a temporary period, will set a precedent.

"I am not convinced by the applicant's argument that landlords in Ripon will not take on these employees as tenants. There is no evidence that they have tested the market and found no accommodation. It's supposition."

After the meeting, committee chairman Nigel Simms said the men were not being made homeless because there were places to rent in Ripon.