PLANS for an eco home next to a Grade II-listed home have divided Councillors, with one describing it as "genuinely exceptional" and another as a scheme that should "never see the light of day". 

And one claimed the design would be more at home in Dubai than in the Yorkshire countryside.

Skipton and Ripon’s planning committee met on Tuesday to consider a plan by Julian Wood to demolish a garage that is attached to the listed Norwood House near Cowling, a village just outside of Keighley, in order to build a two-bedroom eco-house.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: The planned eco cottage in Cowling

Plans for the property include solar panels, a heat recovery system, triple glazing, an air source heat pump, a thermal design and rainwater harvesting.

Designs also feature a flat roof covered with grass so it would blend into the surroundings.

But with strict planning rules in the open countryside, councillors were told the plans would have to be truly exceptional in order to be approved.

An officer read out a statement on behalf of Mr Wood, who said his family wanted to downsize from Norwood House where they currently live.

He said: “Understandably, planning policy sets a high bar for applications like this and rightly so.

"We believe the combination of high design and environmental standards will create a dwelling that’s considered to be the outstanding design that’s required by policy.”

Andy Brown, Green Party councillor for Aire Valley, argued the house was sufficiently innovative to be approved, despite its location and not being identified for development in the local plan.

He said: “It is genuinely exceptional. There’s nowhere in our area that meets these standards and it’s basically unique in its design.

“There’s nothing of a similar design in Craven. It’s not putting a few solar panels on to squeeze it past the committee.”

But Robert Heseltine, independent councillor for Skipton East & South,  said the new building would be a “permanent carbuncle” on the Grade II-listed traditional Dales farmhouse and claimed it would be more suited to Dubai rather than the Craven countryside.

He said the plans have “nothing going for it whatsoever” and “must never see the light of day”.

Conservative councillors David Ireton, Nick Brown and Nathan Hull all commended the application for its environmental credentials but said its location was not suitable. It was ultimately refused by four votes to two.

The applicant can appeal the decision.