A RADIO station told to remove a 12m aerial pole by planning enforcement officers in June last year is trying to retain it.

The aerial is in a field alongside Old Church Lane, Pateley Bridge, near Harrogate.

But despite an enforcement notice ordering removal of the mast running out in September last year the former Yorkshire Dales Radio, now known as FRESH AM, has tabled a planning application to Harrogate Borough Council to retain the pole to ensure improved reception in the Pateley area.

Planning officer Jane Lurcuck is recommending approval of the application when Ripon area planning committee meets on Tuesday.

But she believes only temporary consent should be given for five years. She said a difficult balance had to be made.

"On balance, it is considered that the service the aerial provides is important to the locality and outweighs the protection of the area of natural beauty," she said.

High and Low Bishopside Parish Council objects to retention of the equipment, saying it is a visual intrusion.

The radio station started broadcasting a restricted service for Pateley in 1994. A full-time licence was awarded by the Radio Authority in 1996, covering the Yorkshire Dales from Appleby to Middleton, in Teesdale, in the north, and Ilkley and Keighley, in the south.