A NEW concept in holiday villages has been given the go-ahead after a U-turn by a planning authority which seemed due to oppose it.

Eco-Build UK has won permission for ten environmentally-friendly chalets after scaling down its proposals for Aislabeck on the western edge of Richmond, North Yorkshire.

A legal agreement will also be prepared to ensure a conservation management plan is drawn up and a percentage of the business's profits go to local environmental projects - as Eco-Build had promised when the proposals first emerged in December.

The company originally wanted 18 chalets on the site, all adapted to run off solar and wind power, to have a natural reed-bed sewerage system, renewable fuel heating and rainwater collection.

Richmondshire District Council was worried some of them would be too visible, particularly from nearby roads and footpaths, so the total has been reduced to ten.

Access arrangements have been altered to better blend with the landscape while further work will also be carried out to establish if the site's former use as a firing range presents any danger.

Tourism chiefs are predicting the £2m project could generate as much as £7,000 a week for the local economy.

"Once we are off the ground, Richmond residents will be immensely proud of Gateway Lodges," said Eco-Build's Matthew Spence.

"Not only will it benefit the local economy through increased tourism, but it will also be a model for similar schemes in other market towns throughout the country."