A SCHEME to create a mountain bike track on the North York Moors to cater for fans of the sport has been refused after locals criticised it.

A plan to run a downhill track at Carlton in Cleveland, in the North York Moors National Park, was turned down on May 7.

The zig-zag course at Underhill Farm, near to Stokesley, was built in 2008 without approval to cater for the growing demand in the sport.

Applicant Michael Thomsett then entered a retrospective planning application with the North York Moors National Park Authority.

Carlton in Cleveland Parish Council, the Ramblers Association plus several locals all attacked the plans.

The opponents fear the landscape could be scarred by the large number of visitors and say there are better sites for a track.

National park planners have suggested that around 300 riders and 3,000 fans could attend each race.

Linda Scarlett, clerk of Carlton in Cleveland Parish Council, said: "We were pleased with the outcome.

"We felt it would probably be refused as we and the Ramblers Association were against it and the national park recommended refusing it.

"It is on a prominent hillside and it is visible for miles around.

"There were scrambler bikes up there about ten years and they made a real mess.

"The national park moved them and spent a lot of money repairing the area and it’s better than it was but not as good as the rest of the hillside.

"There were concerns the mountain bike track could cause scarring again."

The locals also asked the park authority to restrict the track to just three races a year and to have the power to scrap an event it felt would cause unreasonable damage to the area.

Mr Thomsett, of Osmotherley, said: "It’s bad news and I’m exceedingly disappointed.

"It was an opportunity for the national park to have prestigious events and have a sport which could be an Olympic event soon.

"I had submitted a supporting document for the scheme that the park’s planning committee seemed not to have seen.

"It was not very satisfactory and I’ve been mulling over appealing but even if we did it would take months."