CAMPAIGN group Friends of the Dales has reacted angrily to plans for the historic Horton-in-Ribblesdale Rail Station.

The Settle and Carlisle Railway Trust has lodged an application with the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority to convert the 483 square metre station building into a cafe, bar and holiday cottage.

In its submissions to the planning authority, the trust says there has been no ‘meaningful public access’ to the station buildings, and that its plans will secure their future by giving it an ‘economic use and providing greater visitor opportunities for rail users.’

But Friends of the Dales says the set up of the national park’s planning website gives the impression only Horton Parish Council has objected to the scheme, giving a ‘misleading’ impression.

It says it has in fact objected on several different grounds to the application, including the potential loss of an important and well used public ‘community room’ within the station buildings, its preservation of which was a condition of earlier planning consent.

It also objects because the changes - which the trust acknowledges will be ‘significant’ - will impact on both the station buildings themselves - such as the removal of the ticket office window - and on the wider conservation area of the Settle to Carlisle railway.

A spokesperson for Friends of the Dales described the plans as ‘drastic’ and criticised the national park for not including all comments to do with the application on its website.

“There had been, in fact, a good number of objections, some of them confirmed by the planning department. Probably the most detailed objection came, in fact, from Friends of the Dales.

“In this case, full information is of particularly crucial importance as the planning application does not only outline developments harmful to this historic and much loved building but also contains some serious misinformation as highlighted by Friends of the Dales, the parish council and several local residents.”

The spokesperson added that neither the campaigning group or other objectors are in principle opposed to ‘finding the best possible use’ of the station’, but the proposals needed to contain the correct information.

“The (community) room has been used by members of the public, the local history group and the parish council for meetings, storing archives and the server for the local community broadband.

“Yet the applicant states that “it has not been utilised for community use since planning approval was granted’.

“Friends of the Dales, the local parish council and several others have challenged this misinformation. Yet unfortunately nothing has been recorded on the planning website giving a completely false impression that all is well.”

A spokesperson for the The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority said: 

"Only responses from consultees are published online. These include statutory consultees, where there is a requirement set out in law to consult a particular body, and non-statutory consultees, (such as parish councils) where there are planning reasons to engage other consultees.

"We can confirm we’ve received Mr Fenton’s (Friends of the Dales)  comments which will be carefully considered alongside representations from local community groups, individuals, and other interested parties.

"If there are inaccuracies within the planning application, they will be discussed with the applicant and any differences of opinion will be considered and dealt with when the decision is made.

"Finally, in common with other planning authorities in the region we are experiencing very high workloads at the moment which is making it harder to respond as promptly as we would like to all the correspondence we receive. We’re trying to rectify that situation and would ask the public to bear with us."