THE green belt between Harrogate and Knaresborough should not be broken to develop two residential care homes for visually impaired youngsters, planners decided.

Members of Harrogate Borough Council planning committee unanimously refused an application by Henshaw's College for visually impaired people, at Bogs Lane, Starbeck, to create the homes.

The scheme was turned down because it would have been built in the sensitive green belt between the two towns.

Planning officer Anne Smith said green belt policy had existed in the area for many years in a bid to stop merging of development and to retain the openness of very sensitive areas between Harrogate and Knaresborough. She said: "It is acknowledged that the applicants provide a very important service and facility, but it is not considered that they have made a case to go against the strong green belt policies which exist."

A report backing development from the college said would be managed as part of a community housing scheme, which aimed to provide an opportunity for young visually impaired people.

They had been students at the college and needed to acquire further skills in a more community-based setting.

It said because the homes would be close to the college, residents could continue using its health, fitness and leisure facilities, yet would enjoy the benefit of distinct housing off college campus.

"Each person living in the house will treat it as their long- term home, though a feature of this type of accommodation that provides transition from education to independence is that people can move on to even more independence," said a spokesman for the applicant.

"This will be done at their own pace so the houses will be treated as medium to longer term homes for the people who live in them."