THE battle over the future of the historic Devonshire pub in Skipton took a step forward when architects sought support for their latest plans.

JD Wetherspoon plc has been trying to win over residents and planners since 2000. The 18th century grade two listed building has stood empty for over a year, and twice the company's plans have been rejected, and twice they have withdrawn applications.

Recognising the significance of the building within the Skipton community, architects and a representative from Wetherspoons called a meeting there last Thursday to run some new ideas past residents and the civic society.

Those present appeared to cautiously welcome the plans and offered one or two amendments, which the architects said they would take on board.

The new plans will be lodged with the planning committee in February and if passed work could begin at the end of the summer. It is expected the new pub will be pulling in £25,000 a week by the beginning of next year.

Architect Paul Harrison said he realised the first application had been too controversial and they had gone back to the drawing board to come up with something more in keeping.

He said Wetherspoons was keen to get a scheme up and running as the building was falling into a poor state.

The new suggestions include building a pavilion on to the rear which will contain the kitchen and bar area. It will be lower than the neighbouring houses and less intrusive than the extension proposed previously.

That prompted objections on the grounds it would be predominantly made of glass and would invade the neighbours' privacy.

Architect Roger Beckett said the pavilion would contain the kitchen and bar and so restrict the amount of public space within it. Customers would buy their food and drink from there but then move away into the older part of the building to consume it. This should limit the noise nuisance to neighbours.

A design proposal report said: "It is our intention to ensure the building refurbishment allows the grade two structure to retain its full integrity. With this in mind it is our view that all extension work should be designed in a very contemporary yet sensitive manner to complement and contrast the existing structure."

A small extension on the front of the Devonshire will form an alternative entrance and disabled access. It will be constructed mainly from glass so not to detract from the building's fascia.

The architects said they wanted to retain and restore the building's original features but remove many of the elements added in later years which they felt were inappropriate.

The report said: "We intend to refurbish the existing grade two listed building with a view to returning the ground floor spaces to their original form as closely as possible.

"It is our intention to carry out extensive research into the detailing of the internal rooms with a view to replicating the original details, when replacing existing cornices, skirtings, architraves, dado rails and picture rails."

The existing bar fittings will be removed, the staircase will be refurbished sensitively and damaged walls will be repaired.

Wetherspoons intends to remove the cars from the forecourt which limit the view of the building. Bollards will restrict vehicular access.

The first floor will be fitted with the toilets and the second floor will contain the manager's flat.