A FARMING couple have revealed plans to diversify their business by turning part of their land into boarding kennels.

Arthur and Maxine Tait want to build dog kennels at Willow Farm, in Scagglethorpe, near Malton, in a move they say will create local jobs.

Their planning application has been met with concern by officials of Ryedale District Council, who are worried about the noise disturbance to the Taits' neighbours.

But Mr Tait has insisted that the development would be welcomed as a much-needed facility by dog lovers in the Malton area.

"Employment in agriculture has fallen steeply and farmers have to increasingly diversify into other activities to maintain an income," he said.

"Great care and thought have been taken to design the boarding kennel to look like a single-storey complex, to enable it to blend in with a rural setting."

Environmental health chiefs are said to be concerned about the impact of having 70 dogs at the kennels, as well as highway safety on the nearby A64. The Taits' application is expected to be considered by the district council in the near future.