A company that parked a caravan on a timber yard site to provide accommodation for staff is seeking planning approval for it to stay for five years.

Applicant RE Duffied and Sons, based at Melmerby, near Ripon, say because of a shortage of local workers, they have employed two Latvian workers who need the caravan. The company also said having workers on site improved security.

But planning officers do not believe workers would have a satisfactory level of residential amenity in the caravan, given the restricted outlook. The caravan, said officers, is very close to large warehouses and surrounded by pallets of timber.

The company told planning officers it had not been possible to find the men accommodation in Ripon, and hotel or bed and breakfast accommodation was too costly.

Planning officer Linda Drake is recommending refusal of the application when councillors consider it on Tuesday at an area planning committee of Harrogate Borough Council.

Although Mrs Drake said she sympathised with the company, she said there was no justification for parking a static caravan on the site in conflict with North Yorkshire County Council structure plan and Harrogate District Local plan.

She said: "It is an inappropriate location within the open countryside and, if approved, would set a precedent for other local businesses to also apply for caravans."

Mrs Drake said if security was an issue, other options needed to be considered first before applying for a dwelling, such as manning the gate with security guards.