THE country's first eco-hostel could be created in North Yorkshire with the help of cash from national park chiefs.

The scheme at the youth hostel at Lockton, five miles north of Pickering, has been hailed as a beacon for sustainable tourism and environmentally-friendly living.

The Youth Hostel Association (YHA) has applied to the North York Moors National Park Authority to further support a "green" project at the hostel by providing £11,440 from its Sustainable Development Fund (SDF).

Lockton Youth Hostel, in the old village school, has not been upgraded since it opened in the 1970s, and its facilities are outdated and in need of modernisation.

The YHA approached the authority in summer 2002 to seek support for the youth hostel because of a closure threat due to falling visitor numbers. Officers encouraged the YHA to apply to the SDF to help fund its renovation and conversion into the first Green Beacon Youth Hostel.

When completed the hostel will have photovoltaic panels to produce electricity from the sun, solar hot water panels, a demonstration dry compost toilet, a living sedum roof, sheep's wool insulation, recycled newspaper loft insulation, a rainwater harvesting system for non-drinking water use, and energy and water conservation measures.

"The aim is to make YHA Lockton an exemplar of sustainable living, tourism and accommodation to local people, visitors and other accommodation providers, regionally and nationally," said SDF officer Rachel Wood.

"It will become the first youth hostel to be assessed against the European Union's eco-label standards; currently there are no accommodation providers in the UK who meet these standards.

"The strategies and ethos employed in the development of the YHA Lockton will influence and inform the YHA's thinking on future youth hostel developments throughout Yorkshire and Humber region and across the national network."

Following its redevelopment the hostel is set to achieve an English Tourism Council four-star rating.

The YHA has already been awarded an SDF grant of £35,000. At the time of that application the total costs of the scheme were expected to be £170,000. But the sum has increased to £190,000 following the closure of a tax loophole which the YHA benefited from.

The association is therefore seeking an additional contribution of £11,440, which will be discussed at a meeting of the authority at Bondgate, Helmsley, on Monday.

Updated: 10:10 Tuesday, June 08, 2004