Auction mart bosses were reconsidering their options after their plans to move to a greenfield site were thrown out by local councillors.

To the jubilation of people living close the intended site on the edge of Northallerton, Hambleton councillors were unanimous in their rejection of the scheme.

Around 50 of the protesters attended the meeting of the council's development control committee last Thursday. Action group leader Bob Beaver said: "This was a good decision, taken for sound planning reasons. The auction mart must have been given bad advice to try and relocate so close to a residential area."

The proposal had involved moving the auction mart from its present site at the Applegarth to just off the Thirsk Road.

Hundreds of individual letters of objection were received by the district council, raising concerns of flooding, traffic, smell, noise and impact on residential amenity.

Director of Northallerton Auctions Alan Harrison said the company had wanted to have the application deferred in order to address the concerns raised by revising the scale, siting and landscaping of the scheme.

He said: "We are quietly confident the issues can be resolved and we must now consider various options."