Fury in village home to classic BBC series All Creatures Great And Small over plans to turn historic 15th century church tower white and leave it 'looking like a lighthouse'

Villagers have hit out at plans to turn a 15th century church tower white and make it 'look like a lighthouse'.

St Oswald's Church in Askrigg, North Yorkshire, is the focal point of the Dales village where the original hit TV series of All Creatures Great and Small was filmed.

The church has suffered from damp problems for years and the authorities have permission to render the Grade 1 listed tower and cover it in white limewash to deal with the issue.

The Anglican diocese, the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority and Historic England have backed the rendering process as the most appropriate way to protect the historic church.

But 431 people have signed a petition to 'stop rendering the church clock tower.'

One resident described it as 'desecration' and added: 'It's like putting a lighthouse in the middle of the Yorkshire Dales.'

Planning permission dating back to 2019, when a public consultation took place, is said to remain valid.

But images showing what the tower could look like has caused fresh alarm.

The artist's impressions of the church's new look were produced by local resident Steven Harrington.

He said: 'I personally think it will look awful. They have said the colour will be a shade darker now but will still stand out and look completely out of place.'

Resident Val Halton said: 'Our church tower is damp and needs substantial work to make it watertight. There have been several remedies proposed and a lot of discussions between the church and experts, the public have been excluded.

'A public meeting was held around three weeks ago to tell the local community what was going to happen – it was a done deal.

'There was no public consultation – our church tower was going to be rendered white. The experts admitted the rendering was a 'first' and no one could say if it would work. Builders had proposed other options, but these were ignored.'

She said scaffolding has already gone up and 'the village is distraught.'

Askrigg was used for filming of the original hit BBC series of James Herriot's books about life as a vet in the Dales. Buildings in the village became the Drovers Arms pub and Skeldale House, where he lived and worked.

A spokesperson for the Anglican Diocese said: 'Changes which affect the appearance of a Grade I listed church are not permitted easily, so the case for the need to protect the building from water ingress and damage resulting from its exposed position was very carefully weighed before permission was given.

'External rendering is a traditional process appropriate to an historic building, as confirmed by various local and national specialist conservation experts consulted.'

The petition started by local resident Emma Brooke said the rendering would 'stick out like a sore thumb and be totally out of keeping with its surroundings.'

Villager Linda Dodsworth commented on social media it was 'going to look like a lighthouse from across the valley.' 

Adding: 'National parks have lost all their credibility, you cannot change your windows or have purple composite doors but you can paint a Norman church any colour you would like!'