Housing plan on hold

PLANNING officers are waiting for more information on a controversial proposed housing development which has divided a village near Northallerton.

A local farming family, J Charlton and Sons, wants to build eight houses and garages on land at Ainderby House Farm, Ainderby Steeple, making a new access road into the site near St Helen's church, on the A684.

The Charltons withdrew a previous detailed application for nine houses on the same site 18 months ago after planning officers at Hambleton council recommended refusal.

Officers recommended that the latest outline scheme should also be turned down because there were no exceptional circumstances to justify approval outside village development limits, it would adversely affect the character of the conservation area and some houses would be so close together that occupiers would lose privacy.

The planning committee agreed, however, to defer a decision until more information was received from a legal adviser for the applicants.

Sharp swimmers TWO novice divers from Northallerton came face to face with nature's finest killing machine recently in a bid to raise funds for charity.

Miss Elaine Strachan, 23, of Crosby Road, and Mr Stuart Kite, 24, also of Northallerton, were sponsored to spend 30 minutes with sharks in a water tank at the Blue Planet aquarium in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire. The swim raised £650 for the day unit at the Friarage hospital.

"It was brilliant," said Miss Strachan. "Neither of us had done scuba diving before, but they gave us plenty of training before we went in with the sharks."