A MULTIPLE sclerosis sufferer faces an uncertain future as she fights to remain in the Swaledale village that has been her home for more than 20 years.

Heather Coates and her husband, Eric, who was born in the dale, want to build a bungalow suitable for her wheelchair and other equipment on the edge of Gunnerside.

Planners from the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority say the proposals are unacceptable because the site is outside the permitted development boundary for the village.

They have recommended rejection of the scheme, which could be the only option for Mr and Mrs Coates and their two teenage sons to stay in the area.

The planning committee debates the case when it meets at Sedbergh, in Cumbria, on Tuesday.

A report to the meeting acknowledges that the couple have looked at several other options, including adapting their present home, which building control officials admit is impossible.

Wheelchair access could not be achieved, and social services have not been able to provide lifting equipment because it cannot be safely installed and operated in the house where they have lived for 21 years.

Other sites in the village for a new house were investigated, but all proved fruitless and proposals for conversion of a barn failed to meet planning requirements.

Planners acknowledge that Mrs Coates, who has to be carried from room to room by her husband, needs better accommodation. However, they conclude the proposed bungalow would be extremely harmful to the landscape and the barns and walls conservation area.

Mr and Mrs Coates have won the backing of many villagers, including a 76-name petition presented to the national park authority. Melbecks Parish Council also supports the application.

One letter of objection from a resident was submitted.

"Our present house is no longer suitable and my husband can't carry me about for ever," said Mrs Coates, a former caretaker at the village school. "I really don't know what we would do if we couldn't build a new home. My husband is from the dale and he would lose his job if we had to move away. I have been up here for 30 years. My sons are aged 14 and 17 and Gunnerside has been their home all their lives."

Mr Coates is a school bus contractor for Gunnerside and a small-scale breeder of prize Swaledale sheep.

Mrs Coates appealed to committee members to consider the park authority's stated commitment to keeping young families in the Dales