Plans to add a smoking shelter to a Ringwood pub may be stubbed out by district council planning chiefs, despite getting the thumbs up from the town council.

Finn McCouls has applied to build an outdoor shelter for smokers on the back of its grade II listed pub in Market Square.

Ringwood town council waved through plans for the "dining area", a covered walkway, and patio doors from the main building.

But New Forest District Council, which has the final say on development, said the plans would cause "significant harm" to the listed building and recommended that the planning committee refuse the application at a special meeting on Wednesday.

A spokesman said: "The proposed structures would have an unacceptable impact on the character and integrity of the listed building and be harmful to the wider Conservation area."

"The quality of spaces and its relationship to the rest of the building is awkward and substantially out of character," the spokesman added.

But licensee Richard Brady says he's trying to cope with new smoking regulations that have forced his customers on to the street.

"I have a problem with people smoking in front of the pub. This shelter would keep them at the back, in a controlled area monitored by cctv.

"The town council can see that it's a sensible proposal; I'm surprised the district council doesn't."

Mr Brady denied that the structure would damage the conservation area. "We're surrounded by new buildings here," he said.

"The shelter will be open on two sides and protected by a canopy. We're talking about something pretty basic," he said.

The council received two letters from residents objecting to the proposal. But its environmental officer said that extra noise from the shelter would be "marginal".