RESEARCH has revealed house prices have soared in a market town with a new £42m bypass - and dropped in an area where a waste recovery plant has been built.

The North Yorkshire Price Index reveals detached houses in the Bedale area rose by 21 per cent, but in Boroughbridge prices fell 1.8 per cent. Index compilers, The Search Partnership, said Bedale prices also rose17 per cent in 2016 with the average price of detached houses now £290,000.

Director Toby Milbank said: "The Bedale bypass was completed in August 2016, so we were expecting significant growth, but it's surprising to see how it has continued in 2017. Completion of the A1 may have also been influential, enabling easier access to Leeds, Harrogate and York.”

The Ripon area increased by 11 per cent, with Thirsk rising 8.6 per cent. However the Boroughbridge area dropped 1.8 per cent. Mr Milbank said: "The waste recovery plant at Allerton Park may have held back prices in the Boroughbridge area, added to uncertainty over proposed large scale residential developments in the surrounding area."