A FARMER has been given permission to turn his pig sties over to cars and motorbikes, despite opposition from neighbours.

People protesting about noise from the Croft Circuit motor racing circuit near Darlington feared Ian Wilson's plans to turn a pig unit into a garage and repair workshop would give them an even bigger headache.

But Richmondshire District Council has granted permission for the plan after officers said extra soundproofing could be installed in the farm buildings to reduce noise.

Mr Wilson, who farms at Moorhouse Farm, Dalton-on-Tees, near Darlington, drew up the plans for the workshop in the face of the continuing agricultural crisis which has made pig production uneconomic.

But the hours he is able to open his new business may still be restricted to try to reduce disturbance to his neighbours.

Patrick Earle, the council's planning unit manager, said the authority aimed to agree a set of conditions for operating the garage with Mr Wilson.

He said: "It has been approved in principle, but details of conditions and working hours have still to be worked out.

"The objective will be to find a series of controls that are not so onerous as to be unreasonable, but do give some protection to people in the area, who already have a fair amount of disturbance."

He said it might be considered reasonable to allow the workshop to operate at weekends, when the circuit is hosting a race meeting, when noise from the circuit is likely to drown out noise from the garage.

Residents living near the circuit have complained that the garage would mean they would suffer from even greater disturbance, including noise on days when no racing takes place.

Campaigners were angered last month when the district council decided to drop its legal action against noise disturbance from the circuit.