VILLAGERS will learn tomorrow whether their only shop is to be lost for good, under controversial plans put forward by its owners.

The owners of the post office at Kirklington, near Bedale, have submitted proposals to Hambleton District Council to close the business and turn the empty shop premises into living accommodation.

William and Pauline Miller closed the shop last summer - a year after they were threatened in a terrifying armed robbery - and say no offer has yet been made for the business.

Residents have written to council planners urging them to reject the Millers' request, saying that they now had to travel to Ripon for shopping.

Local people also claimed that, with longer opening hours, the shop could become a thriving business again.

Parish councillors are strongly objecting to the plans and say the village has been capable of sustaining a viable business venture for many years.

However, in a letter explaining their decision, Mr and Mrs Miller said: "The fundamental cause of the shop's decline has been a reduction in its customer base due to deaths and the migration from the village of valued customers.

"A considerable fall in people using the post office section was also noticed, due to factors such as the Government's promotion of payment of family allowances on a monthly, as opposed to a weekly basis, and the offering of free television licences to over 75-year-olds."

The couple said the loss of a major contract to supply newspapers to nearby service stations on the A1 had been a fatal blow.

Council officials are supporting the couple's bid to turn the premises into a house.

A council spokeswoman said: "It is considered that the information submitted in support of the application demonstrates that every reasonable effort has been made to retain the shop within this location."

The matter will be discussed at a planning committee meeting in the Stone Cross civic centre, in Northallerton, tomorrow.