A FARMER is to build a giant “slurry store”, capable of holding 1.3m gallons of slurry from more than 600 cows in a lagoon five metres deep, after plans were given the go-ahead.

The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNP) has congratulated the farmer behind the plans for investing in the dairy industry, after he came forward with an applicaiton for the store at Thoralby near Aysgarth in the Yorkshire Dales.

Once built, the 41-metre diameter pool will hold six months’ worth of slurry from more than 600 cows at Thoralby Town Head Farm, equating to 6,005 cubic metres in total.

It will be made from concrete panels and built into the hillside north of the village in a site screened by trees and the lie of the land.

The park authority’s planning committee meeting heard that the store would result in environmental benefits, as it would mean the farmer – Michael Lancaster – would no longer need to spread organic manure in the winter months, when high rainfall can cause run-off and river pollution.

It would also mean it could be applied at the right time to match the nutrient uptake of the grass.

YDNPA deputy chairman, Ian McPherson, said: “The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority recognises the critical role farmers play in looking after this treasured landscape, and in keeping local communities strong.

“We want to do all we can to support them, and in this case, I would like to congratulate the applicant for investing in dairy, an iconic Dales industry which has suffered a lot in recent years.

“Getting permission to build a massive industrial structure high up on a hillside in a protected landscape was always going to be a challenge – and late last year a first set of plans was knocked back. The applicant listened to our concerns and came back with a fresh proposal.

"Despite its scale, the slurry store will be sensitively sited so that it should not have an intrusive impact on the visual quality of the landscape of Bishopdale.

“This case shows once again that wherever possible, our planning service will work with an applicant to get a successful outcome. In the past five years, we’ve approved more than 95 per cent of all agricultural building applications.”

The applicant’s agent, John Akrigg of WBW Surveyors Ltd, said: “The granting of planning permission is a good outcome that will allow the applicant to develop his farm business without detriment to the national park.”