A BUILDING containing what has been described as the office block of the future is springing up on the site of a former pig farm near Bedale.

When they experienced a collapse in the pig industry, brother and sister Edwin Birtwistle and Dorothy Knightley decided they would have to diversify by finding a new use for the yard of their farm at Long Garth, Carthorpe.

The result is a two-storey office block, which will be let to businesses and will also incorporate a common room to be available for local community use at certain times of the day.

But the £500,000 project, which was helped by a grant from Defra and is expected to be completed in July, did not have an easy passage through the planning system.

After the original application was turned down by Hambleton District Council, Mr Birtwistle and Mrs Knightley engaged an expert advocate to fight their case at a successful appeal involving a public hearing.

Companies using the office block, being built by local firm Randall Orchard Construction as one of the conditions of the Defra grant, will have access to broadband internet, air conditioning, self-contained kitchen arrangements, a lift, landscaped grounds and views of the surrounding countryside.

Access for the disabled has been an important feature, the design of a spiral staircase having been adapted to meet their special needs.

Mr Birtwistle and Mrs Knightley, who have owned Long Garth since 1991, were helped by the enterprise agency Business Solutions Bedale, which agreed that their project was a viable proposition.

Mrs Knightley said all materials had been specially approved to ensure they matched the environment, adding that, when the 4,000 sq ft block was finished, it would look like a barn conversion.

The design was by Robin Hall of Ripon.

Mrs Knightley said: "It will be open to all types of companies - those in service industries, IT, training, marketing and recruitment.

"We believe there is a move now away from city sites to a rural environment and this has easy access and proximity to main motorways.

"People want to get away from congestion; they want to be able to park and work in a nice environment.

"It will be very like home from home and the offices of 2020 will be almost a replica of this. It is the first time new offices of this size, design and quality have ever been done which are meant to look like a rural building.''

Mrs Knightley, who said it had taken three years to get planning permission, stressed that it had not been a speculative venture but had involved extensive market research.

"We looked at travelling times and interviewed 100 people about where they lived and got to work and whether office space would be available nearer to home.

"We had to demonstrate need. Planning was obtained through special conditions which had never been used before. We had to do a lot of research to support and prove the argument.''

Inquiries are being handled by Julie Wallin, of Carver Commercial at Darlington, who said strong interest had been expressed by one company.