A POPULAR youth hostel, earmarked for closure by the end of the year, has been given a stay of execution.

Aysgarth, in Wensleydale, North Yorkshire, was among ten properties owned by the national Youth Hostel Association (YHA) facing the axe as the organisation tried to balance the books in the wake of the foot-and-mouth disease crisis.

The association lost £5m last year as a direct result of the outbreak.

With footpaths closed to limit the risk of spreading the disease, the YHA's main source of income was reduced to a trickle.

After a board meeting in March, the YHA claimed that if it did not press ahead with cuts, a nationwide rolling refurbishment plan could be put in jeopardy.

If standards of accommodation were allowed to deteriorate, so could the long-term future of the association.

The claims proved particularly controversial at Ays-garth, where as many as 7,000 people stay every year.

The YHA was accused of "cherry-picking" the hostels to go on the market, selecting those most likely to prove lucrative rather than those which have been under-performing.

However, after a head-to-head meeting at the relaunch of the newly-refurbished Grinton hostel, in Swaledale, yesterday, both sides agreed a course of action which could ultimately save Aysgarth.

The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, North Yorkshire County Council and Richmondshire District Council will contribute to the cost of an independent feasibility study to establish if there are realistic alternatives to closure.

They will also research the possibility of winning grants to help with the estimated £300,000 cost of refurbishing Aysgarth's hostel, while examining ways in which they can work in partnership with the YHA to promote the facilities the association provides in the Yorkshire Dales.

"We are very pleased with the outcome so far," said the chief executive of the YHA, Roger Clarke.

"There has been a lot of interest in Aysgarth, which is something we welcome. After all, it would be worse if there was none. The discussion shows how important our work is to the area."