A SECOND bid in just over a year to build a home beyond the built-up confines of Baldersby, near Thirsk, has been refused.

The latest plan involved building a three-bedroomed detached bungalow near Baldersby Garth. A similar application for a two-storey, four-bedroomed home was refused in April last year.

Members of Ripon area planning committee of Harrogate Borough Council voted against the scheme, backing planning officer Miss Jill North who recommended refusal.

Baldersby Parish Council did not object but said the development should be a bungalow built of stone, not brick. Members also wanted a hedge bordering Baldersby Garth retained.

But five letters from residents objected on a string of grounds. They claimed development would mean loss of an attractive and valuable open space, loss of an established hedgerow, unacceptable loss of prime agricultural land and development beyond village limits.

One objector said there had been no material changes in circumstances since the previous refusal last April; another said a dangerous precedent would be set for similar plots on the edge of Baldersby.

Miss North said the presence of fields leading out into the countryside was a fundamental character of Baldesby, particularly along Baldersby Garth. It provided important views beyond the immediate street scene.

"The long-term protection of the landscape setting of the village is important," said Miss North, adding development would be contrary to district plan policies.

She said there was no objection to detailed design of the new home. But the proposal equated to ten dwellings per hectare and represented inefficient use of land.

There would also be loss of grade II agricultural land and an important hedgerow for which no justification or overriding need had been demonstrated.