A FARMER has lost a long-running battle to open a caravan site on his land after a public inquiry.

Entertainer and farmer Paul Stephenson had been pressing to open a site on his land at Coal Road, Marwood, near Barnard Castle, for several years but had been blocked by members of Teesdale District Council.

At a meeting in December, members had voted 12-9 in favour of the application in a departure from the council's structure plan.

Only months later, the council voted 15-10 to review the application after it emerged that several members had failed to notify fellow councillors that they had visited the site with the applicant.

In March, members of the development control committee refused the application, and it was narrowly voted out.

In a last-ditch attempt to open the site, Mr Stephenson took the matter to a public inquiry, but his appeal has been dismissed by an inspector.

The inspector's report said that inadequate screening of the site would leave it clearly visible for several years, which had been a major of concern of local people.

Other issues included the close proximity of an important wildlife site, and the disturbance touring caravans would cause.

Mr Stephenson said he was disappointed with the outcome of the appeal, but thanked those people who had supported his application.