A GRASS-roofed house described by a parish council as totally alien to the Yorkshire Dales has been rejected by planners.

Howard Buffett, of Hardraw, near Hawes, wanted to build the concept home at Croft Farm, Hardraw, but the national park authority refused planning permission.

The meeting on Tuesday heard that Hawes and High Abbotside Parish Council objected strongly to the proposals for the semi-buried house because of its "unconventional nature which is considered to be totally alien to the built environment of the village."

But, the authority's own Skipton area office had backed the scheme subject to conditions on the access and a ban on converting a proposed garage to housing at a later date.

Tim Thom, the authority's ecologist, agreed the development would benefit the site ecologically but said too much had been made of this benefit. Planners said the benefit was not sufficient to outweigh planning guidance.

Mr Buffett's plans also attracted eight letters of support from local people, who said the house was attractive, environmentally-friendly and would improve an eyesore site currently covered with dilapidated farm sheds.

A report to the planning committee said the proposals contravened national planning policy by developing what was considered a greenfield site. It also broke the rules of the local plan after an inspector agreed the authority did not need to release land for open market housing.

During the planning process, Mr Buffett drew parallels between his proposals and a similar earth-sheltered house in the Peak District national park.

After the meeting, Coun John Blackie, national park member and district and county councillor for Hawes, said the decision did not rule out innovative developments in the park.

However, the Hardraw scheme was unacceptable because it was new development on a greenfield site and contravened planning policy.