A DETAILED bid for a new factory, bringing 27 jobs to North Yorkshire, will be tabled when Richmondshire District Council planning officers meet next week.

The former Camas works in Brompton-on-Swale has been empty for some years and, after becoming a target for vandals, was frequently condemned by local people who urged the authority to seek a solution.

An application for homes on the site was rejected in the 1990s when council chiefs were adamant that the land should remain reserved for employment.

The policy appeared to have paid off earlier this year when the site changed hands for £650,000.

There was a sense of relief in the village when demolition of the old factory began earlier this month.

By that time the new owner had been confirmed as Thomas Armstrong - a company which has plants manufacturing concrete blocks in Consett, County Durham, and Pickhill, North Yorkshire.

However, Brompton-on-Swale Parish Council has now viewed blueprints for the factory planned for the site, and has expressed concern about the building's visual impact on the area.

Two 17-metre silos at the centre of the development have prompted particular criticism. The district authority has even said they could prove an eyesore unless architects can be persuaded to incorporate a more sympathetic design.

"In recent years there have been advances in the visual quality of commercial buildings at the industrial area - with more use of brick and other details to provide enhancement," planning officer Brian Hodges wrote in a report to the district council's planning committee, which meets on Tuesday.

He said: "In particular, there should be some landscaping to soften the appearance of the site from the south."

The parish council has also reminded the district authority that an iron bridge over the nearby River Swale has already been identified as an important crossing for walkers, cyclists and horses riders. The proposed factory may make access more difficult.

Mr Hodges's report also noted that planning officers were hoping to negotiate an agreement with Armstrongs to ensure the bridge remained open to the public.