THE last surviving farm in a picture-postcard moorland village which once had 12, has been given a lifeline for its future by planners at the North York Moors National Park Authority.

Planning officers had recommended refusing to allow a farm in Levisham near Pickering to expand but had a change of heart after hearing from its owner.

Steve Eddon, of Lilac Farm, Levisham told the authority's planning committee that he needed to build a new home and three agricultural buildings on the edge of the beauty spot near Pickering to enable his family to remain in business.

He explained that in view of Brexit and increasingly uncertain farm support, if his family farm was to survive it needed modernising to enable it to meet current and future regulations on the size of farm machinery and animal welfare.

He said: "I have given my life to our village as have previous members of my family, for over 100-years. But without re-location we have no future farming at Levisham."

Planning officers had recommended refusal of the plan on the grounds that "a robust and economic justification for the relocation" had not been made and that a new farm house and agricultural buildings outside the main village would be "detrimental to the landscape surrounding Levisham."

However after a lengthy debate the committee approved the plan by nine votes to five.