A DECISION to allow polytunnels on a farm in south Herefordshire will leave the village "marooned in a sea of plastic", a resident has warned.

Neil Cockburn has been granted permission to erect the agricultural aid at Pennoxstone Court Farm in Kings Caple after a battle lasting almost a decade.

But Jake Keogh, from Kings Caple Parish Council, said the outcome has been far from universally welcomed.

"There are no winners from some parishioners' point of view and it has left a very bitter taste in the mouth," he said.

"We are left with a village which, to all intents and purposes, is marooned in a sea of plastic."

He said he has considered moving from Kings Caple on more than one occasion.

His views were backed up by the area's county councillor, Barry Durkin who questioned the application which has been the subject of previous planning inspector decisions and appeals.

"These were attempts by local residents, born and raised for generations in the area of Kings Caple, to protect their environment from this type of farming practice," said Cllr Durkin.

"They too live and work in and around Kings Caple and overlook the lower Wye Valley, a nationally designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty which they fear will come to resemble an industrialised farming wasteland.

"The inspector's decision was apparently based on the local economic argument.

"It should be noted that this decision was contrary to previous planning inspectors and court decisions; albeit that previous applications were largely the same."

Cllr Durkin stressed he supports the ambition of Herefordshire’s horticultural businesses to thrive and "is not contrary to polytunnel development per se".

"I know and accept that the natural beauty of these surroundings is, at least, partly as a result of the cultivation of farmlands and should not be 'encased in aspic'," he said.

"However, can the term ‘natural beauty’ actually apply to polytunnels and their construction parts or this method of 'cultivation' under plastic?"

As reported in last week's Hereford Times, Mr Cockburn said it was "desperately disappointing to see so many obstructions to our very existence".

“Aside from the strain and pressure on us and the business this whole affair has been a scandalous waste of public and other money and has been shown by the planning inspector to be absolutely unnecessary and ill-advised," he said.