WHILE authority - and planning regulations - can often seem like faceless bureaucracy, woe betide anybody who thinks it’s also blind.

This week we learnt a remote stone barn in one of the Yorkshire Dale’s iconic meadow near Hawes wasn’t the equivalent of the “stone tent” it was supposed to be.

Tim’s Barn had permission from the national park authority to be turned into a camping barn; a sparse shelter from the elements for hardy walkers equipped with sleeping mats and sleeping bags.

In reality this remote barn in a field had something rather more comfortable to offer.

Behind those rustic stone barn walls was a well-equipped kitchen, king sized bed, en-suite bathroom, television, DVD player and those other camping mainstays; a fridge, washing machine and oven.

Several holiday cottage websites also told the world of the pleasant gravel drive access and car parking, along with the holiday welcome pack to help visitors get to grips with all the modern comforts on offer.

Indeed, the “five star” accommodation offered by Tim’s Barn in its dales meadow was “the talk of the town” according to Councillor John Blackie.

However, dales folk aren’t one to hold grudges and a new planning application to revert the accommodation back into a barn was approved this week, along with the removal of all its fixtures and fittings.

But if the planners have a change of heart and make an exception for the comfortable bed and en-suite bathroom to remain, I’m sure plenty of footsore walkers will thank them.