A LANDOWNER says he is "staggered" by a national park authority's decision to take legal action over a wooden fishing bothy.

Planners at Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA) has agreed to launch enforcement proceedings after a hut was erected in a field on the banks of the River Ure near Carperby in Wensleydale.

The bothy was installed by the Bolton Estate, which is part of the Ure Salmon Trust, a not-for-profit organisation aiming to increase salmon numbers in the Ure.

Tom Orde-Powlett, from the Bolton Estate, said the hut, which was made by volunteers from Gayle Mill near Hawes, was for use by people who came to the dale to fish.

"There is an expectation amongst many fishermen, particularly those travelling long distances that some form of shelter will be provided, both for their comfort and safety, for example if someone has fallen in the river in cold weather and requires somewhere to change - it is equipped with a first aid kit etc."

Mr Orde-Powlett said the hut was initially built on a concrete base, but this had been removed after the park authority complained,

Commenting on the park authority's claim that the hut meant the land was no longer being used as farmland, he said: "The riverbank has been used for fishing for hundreds of years and no change of land use has taken place.

"The land all remains in agricultural production."

He added that the increase in fishing on the river was boosting the local economy with visitors spending money in local hotels, B&Bs and restaurants, as well as the estate being able to employ a full-time ghilly.

"The bothy is fully mobile and extremely small, traditionally built from locally sourced windblown timber by craftsmen from a local charity.

"It is not permanent, does not constitute a development and will be moved several times annually, including being taken away from the riverbank altogether during the close season.

"Personally, I think that this is as environmentally friendly a form of eco-tourism as anything could possibly be. YDNPA should be supportive of such sensitive management and I find it staggering that their action can be seen as a worthwhile use of taxpayers’ money."

The park authority decided at a meeting earlier this month to serve planning enforcement notice on the landowner requiring removal of the hut.

YDNPA head of development management, Richard Graham said: “The siting of the fishing hut requires planning permission. Permission would not be granted for the hut in this particular location where it has an intrusive and harmful effect on the landscape and would be seen by many people using the public footpaths in the area.

“Members of the committee were mindful that officers had asked the landowner on several occasions over the past year to remove the hut to no avail."

Mr Graham said the national park authority did not object to the principle of fishing huts, providing they were in an appropriate location.