A MOORLAND farmer has won his fight at the second attempt to get permission to build a livestock building for his sheep despite planning officers recommending refusal.

Stephen Agar told the North York Moors National Park Authority that he needed the barn in a field at Egton, in the Esk Valley, to enable him to care for his sheep in winter and at lambing time.

"I feel I can justify the need to build a shed in an isolated spot for the very same reasons the farmers of the Yorkshire Dales used years ago when they built stone barns in remote fields.

"When they were built they would appear modern, but they showed the need for shelter and storage where stock is kept in isolated areas. Exactly the same reasons for welfare apply today."

Mr Agar went on: "The face of farming has changed rapidly and significantly over the last couple of years, much of it towards diversification and alternative income systems.

"I am surrounded by farmers who are being encouraged to make alternative use of their farm buildings and land.

"I am now in the position where I have some land, I have diversified and created an alternative income and now feel that I can combine the two to make a livelihood possible. I can also remain living in the village."

Councillor Herbert Tindall, vice-chairman of the National Park Authority, supported the plan. He said: "It is in the interests of good animal husbandry and welfare."

Planning officers had recommended refusal of the scheme because it would be obtrusive in the landscape and could lead to other applications for agricultural buildings in isolated locations which would be difficult to refuse.