A PLEA by a religious group to build a new place of worship should be refused, according to a planning officer.

Members of the Wetherby Road Trust have applied to Harrogate Borough Council to build the new meeting place, with a 129-space car park, on a field near the junction of the Knaresborough bypass and Wetherby Road at Knaresborough.

But planning officer Anne Smith said the site was outside the town's development limit and no exceptional case had been made for its approval.

She said the development would have an adverse impact on the landscape and was unsustainable because of the need to travel there by private transport.

Members of the Knaresborough area planning committee of Harrogate Borough Council will consider the matter tomorrow.

The Wetherby Road Trust has supported its case by saying that it is a long established religious group which wishes to relocate from its existing premises.

A submission on behalf of Richard Trevvet, a trustee of the trust, says moving the meeting hall would help to ease congestion on Wetherby Road.

Knaresborough Town Council has objected to the proposal, arguing that the development could set a precedent for building outside the town's boundary.

Plompton Parish Council is objecting along similar lines. There have been 11 letters about the application, six of which are in support with the remainder objecting.