A BID to create a coarse fishing club at a countryside site should be given the go-ahead according to planners.

Guy Reed Farms wants to develop the site near the A168 at Asenby, near Thirsk.

Earlier, after protests from the Ministry of Defence, a scheme for three fishing ponds, a wildlife pond and club house was turned down over fears that birds would pose a risk to aircraft.

Harrogate Borough Council planning officer Mike Warden has recommended that the new plans be approved when they are discussed by councillors on Tuesday.

"This is a farm diversification proposal which is to be encouraged. The impact of development, subject to appropriate landscaping, will be relatively insignificant and consequently, it is recommended permission is granted," said Mr Warden.

The club house will be a timber building, described as a welfare facility for anglers, sited in a plantation well away from the road.

But Mr Warden warned that the site was not an appropriate location for a general cafe-snack bar and wanted a condition imposed restricting its use to anglers only.

Agent for the project Graham Wilson said an existing angling pond would be incorporated into the new enterprise and would be partly used for match fishing.

Mr Wilson said: "The ponds are designed with shallow margins to encourage wildlife and to provide a degree of safety to anyone falling into the water. Paths will allow wheelchair access around the ponds."