THE Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority will retain a presence in Bainbridge after members opted for a site in the Wensleydale village for its new northern base.

The North Yorkshire county council depot, beyond the ambulance station, was chosen ahead of land on the Bruntacres trading estate at Hawes, four miles down the road.

The decision on Tuesday (May 28) followed strong representations from staff and the Unison union that the offices should remain in Bainbridge.

The current premises, Yorebridge House, a converted headmaster's house on the outskirts of the village, are cramped. The possibility of extending that building was explored about five years ago but rejected because such a scheme was likely to contravene the authority's own planning rules.

The authority's property committee earlier recommended the Hawes site but that was overturned by the full authority on Tuesday.

The decision followed confirmation from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs that it would fund a new northern office for the national park, following three years of discussions with the authority.

The authority will now begin negotiations with the county council to buy the site and building work could start as soon as September next year, with the authority moving in 2004-5. Yorebridge House will then be sold.

Winter maintenance in the upper dales will not be affected by the sale of the Bainbridge depot. The county council must find another storage site for its salt pile, from which gritting lorries replenish their hoppers, before the move goes ahead.

The meeting heard that 85pc of the 40 staff at Bainbridge wanted the offices to remain in the village to avoid longer journeys to and from work.

There was also concern that businesses in Bainbridge and Askrigg would suffer if the base moved to Hawes.

David Butterworth, national park authority chief executive, said: "Any decision between the two sites was always going to be close. Following the property committee's earlier resolution, authority officers wrote to me requesting that the new office remain in Bainbridge.

"The authority has listened to their concerns over a move to Hawes and considered their views alongside the other broader pros and cons of both sites.

In doing so the authority has agreed on a location that will serve the needs of the authority and the public for many years to come, while continuing to contribute to the local economies of both Bainbridge and Askrigg."

He welcomed news that Defra had finally agreed to fund the majority of the cost of the new office. "That is excellent news for the area and will allow all our northern staff to be brought together on one site. They are currently spread across three sites."

Coun Steve Macare, authority chairman, said: "This is exciting news that will see this authority not only retain a presence in the north of the national park but develop a brown field site with an innovative new office, which will add to the conservation area of Bainbridge.