FORMER National Farmers' Union president Sir Ben Gill could be refused planning permission to build a business park on his land.

Sir Ben, who stepped down last year after six years in the post, wants to create the park on land at Home Farm, on the Hawkhills Estate at Easingwold, North Yorkshire.

Existing farm buildings would be converted into nine commercial units and a gymnasium, while new buildings would be put up to house a cycle store and seven commercial units.

In total, the development would have 1,750sq metres of workspace. It would be accessed by a new road from Hawkhills Lane.

Easingwold Town Council has objected on traffic grounds, while the Environment Agency has warned that the site is in a flood risk area.

A statement issued by planning consultants said the scheme would increase the number of better-paid jobs in the area and reduce the number of people commuting from Easingwold to York and Leeds. The statement also said that the site presented an opportunity for people to walk and cycle to work.

It is estimated that 75 to 90 jobs would be created by the development.

Hambleton District Council planning officer Tim Wood said approving the proposals would be against a number of council policies and has recommended that permission be refused.

He said: "The nature of the development proposed would not specifically target new jobs to replace those lost in agriculture, but rather provides a rural setting for jobs currently based in the cities of York and Leeds. In such circumstances, the local plan policy requires these jobs to be on land approved or allocated for such purposes."

The council will discuss the plans on Thursday.