A ROW has broken out over an area of land which Eastby villagers claim has been used for years for the annual bonfire celebrations.

Chris Booth, landlord of The Masons Arms at Eastby, said the land at the bottom of Eastby Brow, formerly used to stage the village bonfire, had been fenced off and trees planted on it by its owners, the Bolton Abbey Estate.

He said villagers had been angered by the action as they would have no where to light the bonfire this year.

Mr Booth said: "As far as I am aware, this area of land has historically been common ground for the use of the people of Eastby.

"Additionally, it has been used for the age old traditional Guy Fawkes night bonfire for as long as living memory can recall."

He said this was another example of something being taken away from villagers in Eastby and added there were already very few facilities in the village for residents.

A spokesman for Embsay-with-Eastby Parish Council told the Herald there had been much concern in the village over the fencing off of the land.

He added the parish council had advised the Bolton Abbey Estate where to plant the trees and was under the impression that an area would be left for the bonfire when the work was carried out.

Coun Shelagh Marshall said she had received numerous queries about why the land had been fenced off.

She said a scheme had been set up by the Yorkshire Dales National Park and the North Yorkshire County Council's highways department to tidy up various sites in the national park.

"The site at Eastby was a mess and with the agreement of the Bolton Abbey Estate, this was one of the sites identified for tidying up" added Coun Marshall.

Ben Heyes, agent for the Trustees of the Chatsworth Settlement at the Bolton Abbey Estate office, told the Herald the land was owned by the trustees and had originally been let to the county council as a chipping depot.

He added it had got into such a mess after people used it for fly-tipping that essential improvements had to be carried out.

Coun Marshall added: "Again the Bolton Abbey Estate has been seen as the 'culprit'. This is what people have said to me and I have been at pains to tell people that it is joint working between highways and Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority.

"Other sites, about which I have received quite a lot of questions, relate to unofficial lay-bys along the road from Bolton Abbey to Barden Bridge, which have been filled in, again to enhance the landscape.

"There is also a large chipping site at the side of the river at Barden Bridge but Highways cannot do without this, so plans were made to tidy up the other side of the road. There are also plans for a long stretch of yellow lines along this road."

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