MASSIVE changes are on the cards for a private coach company, which may not only see houses replacing the village bus depot, but also 26 more shops for Skipton.

Norman Simpson, a partner of Pennine Coaches in Gargrave, has lodged plans with Craven District Council to build 14 two and three-storey houses off the village high street.

He also wants to convert his existing offices at Grouse Garage into two further dwellings, and build shops at his other depot adjacent to the town hall car park in Skipton.

This would be funded by the sale of the houses, plus a saving of £8,000 per year in business rates through moving to a centralised coach depot on Broughton Road, Skipton.

It would have office accommodation for his 23 staff.

He also has designs on creating shops and flats on land at Albion Yard, adjacent to the town hall car park.

Mr Simpson's ambitions, which are backed by his sons and business partners, Maurice and John, are subject to planning approval, but are intended to consolidate the business.

Rents from the new shops and from existing shops and flats which the Simpsons own can then be used to subsidise the coach business.

The plans will not affect the way the business is being run at the moment but, instead, will enable it to keep operating.

"I could sell up everything and retire if I wanted to," said Mr Simpson, who is 70 in December. "But I am committed to providing a transport service for the people in and around Gargrave and Craven.

"I am the only one who subsidises the service. I know it is more expensive to travel on the coaches than the train, but I do not get any help from the Government apart from a bit of fuel rebate."

Mr Simpson was a Craven District Councillor for 25 years covering the Calton ward - the largest ward in the district. He was chairman of several committees as well as being chairman of the council and leader.

His plans to reshape the future of Pennine Coaches, a business started by his father and two uncles in 1925, are a major investment, which he says will rely on additional tourism.

He said he felt the council could do more to provide additional car parking for the town and hoped the council would stop dragging its feet and set the ball rolling to provide a three-tier car parking facility in the town hall car park.

"It's something I have wanted for a number of years. It is an ideal sloping site.

"You could triple the number of parking spaces by digging down to make an underground floor, with two more levels above which would not be obstrusive. It would not cause problems for disabled drivers, and there would be no need for a lift.

"There would still be ample space for the 20 or so coaches which visit the town each day and there are excellent toilet facilities and around 15 eating establishments close by," said Mr Simpson, who was a councillor when car park and toilet charges were introduced.

But whether his car parking vision is realised, his biggest dilemma at the moment is deciding whether to submit plans for 26 smaller shops or eight large ones on the town hall site if the Gargrave housing site is approved.

"Obviously if the council looks at increasing visitors to the town by providing more parking spaces then the larger number of shops will be the more viable, but I am taking advice from the architects, Wales, Wales and Rawson.

"The changes are huge and it is a very exciting time for the business, but it is the best way of ensuring the company's future so it can continue to provide a reliable transport service for its customers in the future," concluded Mr Simpson.