HIGH level promises have been made that consultation will take place before any increase in status at Menwith Hill.

But the promises made by the Ministry of Defence to Harrogate councillors have been rubbished by Otley peace campaigner Helen John who says councillors are being nave.

A delegation from Harrogate Borough Council met with the MoD in London last week to seek reassurances about any future links between the American base and President George W Bush's 'Son of Star Wars' defence shield.

And the delegation, which included the leader and chief executive of the council and representatives of North Yorkshire County Council and the North Yorks Moors National Park, was told there were no plans at present to raise the status of the base but if there were, consultation would take place.

Council leader, Councillor Geoff Webber said: "In requesting the meeting, we pointed out to the MoD that, whilst the council has always taken a very supportive line towards Menwith Hill, we have no information about the consequences of any change to the role of the base and we believe that we are not in a position to represent this community without more information.

"We were warmly welcomed by the Director General and I must say I was very impressed with the level at which we were received."

Coun Webber said as well as the Director General of the MoD, the Harrogate delegation also discussed their fears with ten senior members of the department including the director of Nuclear Safety.

"They were quick to point out that no decision has been made regarding any 'Son of Star Wars' development at Menwith Hill, or indeed, Fylingdales. We also received their agreement to consult the council if or, indeed, when the time came for them to make that decision."

But Ms John, recently elected vice chairman of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), said: "These men are being nave and are lax in their duty to the people they represent.

"They have been bought out by the reception they received, they went to London on a fact finding tour but have been overwhelmed by the reception they received."

Ms John fears personnel from Bad Aibling base in Germany will be transferred to Menwith Hill when it closes in a year.

She is holding a meeting on Monday at Otley Civic Centre when she will announce plans for a women-only protest outside the camp on December 12 - the day in 1979 when then Prime Mininister Margaret Thatcher announced Britain was to have Trident Nuclear Submarines.

Harrogate council first asked for a meeting with the MoD in the Spring because of local concerns that the base would be used as part of the United States defence shield.

Mick Walsh, the council's chief executive, said that even though the council was the planning authority, it had no control over what went on at the base.

"There has been an implication raised in some quarters that the council, as the planning authority, has considerable control over what happens at Menwith Hill. That is simply not true.

"Menwith Hill is on Crown Land. The development of Crown land, including land held by government departments, does not require planning permission."

He said planning authorities were consulted over developments on such land, but they were only able to make observations.

"If it objects then the Secretary of State would consider these and the views of the sponsoring department and make the decision. We have therefore welcomed the Director General's promise to consult in a more meaningful way and to give us the opportunity to express the real concerns of the communities most affected."