Villagers have won a surprise reprieve from a plan to pull down a bungalow in their tiny community which sparked almost 100 protests - but their fight to halt development might not be over yet

Anger erupted at Skelton on Ure, near Boroughbridge, when an application was tabled to demolish the bungalow and replace it with two semi-detached homes.

Almost 100 villagers signed a protest petition and the parish council also made a "strong protest" with planning officers recommending refusal.

But when the application for a site in Cherry Tree Close came before the Knaresborough area planning committee of Harrogate Borough Council, it was withdrawn.

However, speculation is mounting that a new application concerning the site could be submitted shortly.

A spokesman for Harrogate council's planning department said the application had been withdrawn too late to prevent residents from travelling to the meeting.

The parish council claimed that pulling down an attractive home would be bad enough, but to replace it with something "quite out of harmony with its surroundings" would make matters worse.

Planning officers recommending refusal said development would have a detrimental, overbearing and overlooking impact to the detriment of nearby residents.