A SET of railway carriages visible from the East Coast Mainline are set to remain after a planning application for their removal was refused.

A planning application on behalf of The Sidings Hotel and Restaurant in Shipton by Beningbrough near York, was submitted to Hambleton District Council in August.

The plan, which proposed the demolition of a restaurant and the removal of railway carriages, suggested a new 107-bedroom three-storey hotel built in its place.

The application also proposed the creation of a new car park area, which would run alongside the railway line on land that is currently unused.

However, receiving opposition, one resident described the plans as "harmful" to the Green Belt and criticised the potential increase of hotel bedrooms from nine to 107.

The resident said: "An increase in size, and the proposal for a conventionally roofed three story building to replace an essentially flat roofed current construction – would be harmful to the Green Belt."

Refusing the application on Monday, December 9, Hambleton District Council's planning team agreed the plan would harm the "visual amenity" of the area.

Describing the proposals as "inappropriate" for the area, the refusal document said the planned urban design and stark exterior would be an "incongruous" feature in the landscape.

The document went on to acknowledge the creation of additional jobs, but said there was no guarantee that they would not be low paid.

The full document can be viewed at hambleton.gov.uk