REETH has been designated a conservation area in spite of strong opposition from the parish council.

Members are now considering whether to launch an appeal against the move by the Yorkshire Dales National Park authority.

The authority approved the designation, and identical status for the Coverdale village of East Witton, when it met at Middleham on Tuesday.

While East Witton parish accepted the status following negotiations, the council at Reeth resisted the designation after it was feared it would impose too stringent planning controls on the community.

The park authority's decision came after an earlier motion to designate was deferred in September to allow further consultation with the communities.

The process involved preparation of area character appraisals for each community, with the help of local people, investigation of potential preservation and conservation work and assessment of opposition or support for the proposals.

Mr Graham Darlington, building conservation officer with the authority, said: "This authority has a statutory obligation to designate areas that are of special architectural or historic interest. However, rather than go ahead without local consultation, we arranged a number of community meetings in each of the villages to explain the process and involve as many people as possible."

"East Witton is possibly one of the most well-defined and attractive villages in the whole of the Pennine uplands.

"The historic core of Reeth retains a strong and distinctive identity which is uniquely its own."

The designations pave the way for the development of conservation area action plans for both villages. These will be further developed with the communities and involve discussions on possible preservation and conservation work.

Coun Steve Macare, authority chairman, said: "Our earlier decision to defer designation of these two villages has at least born some fruit, with East Witton Parish Council supporting their designation.

"However, despite Reeth Parish Council not supporting designation, as an authority we have a statutory responsibility to designate areas that are worthy of it. To fail in this duty would see us failing to achieve what we were established to do. In time, I hope the community of Reeth will accept the benefits that designation can bring."

Every household in each village will be sent a leaflet setting out why the areas were designated and detailing the settlements' special features.