Plans for an eco-friendly holiday village are to be examined by councillors before a final decision is made.
Eco Build UK wants to construct 18 log cabins using green technology such as solar and wind-power, woodchip-heating boilers, water recycling and a natural reed bed sewage system.
Councillors have agreed to visit the site, on the outskirts of Richmond, before deciding if the scheme can go ahead.
The move was recommended by planners, who said the project would be outside the town's development limits but could be allowed under planning policy.
The idea of the village, on land between Hurgill Road and Westfields, has won the backing of Richmondshire District Council's tourism officer, but the Council for the Protection of Rural England has objected.
English Nature has said the scheme is acceptable only if a conservation management plan was implemented.
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