A PUB has been granted retrospective approval for a kitchen extractor system that had been installed at a Yorkshire Dales National Park location.

Planning Committee Members at the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA) last week gave retrospective approval for a flue and kitchen extractor system that had been installed at the rear of the Foresters Arms community pub in Carlton-in-Coverdale, near Middleham.

An earlier application by the owners for retrospective planning permission and listed building consent had been approved by the YDNPA last September. However, following a legal challenge, the YDNPA accepted that an error had been made in the way in which the decision was reached, and agreed to a request for the court to overrule it.

The applications were considered again as soon as legally and practically possible, and in the meantime the flue was allowed to remain in place and the pub to operate as normal.

Harold Brown, chairman of the authority’s planning committee, said: “I’m delighted this matter has now been resolved. “Members recognised that the new flue does have some negative impacts on the appearance of the building, but we felt strongly that these were outweighed by other considerations.

“At a time when remote rural areas are seeing a relentless decline in local services, the people of Carlton are to be congratulated for taking action to save their local pub and turning it into a valuable facility for the community.”