PARENTS who applied for planning permission for a new home to ensure the ongoing care of their son were relieved to narrowly receive approval.

Dudley and Susan Harcombe applied to Herefordshire Council for a new building consisting of a two-bedroom dormer style bungalow, with a single storey one-bedroom home attached.

The application site is next to their current family home in Poplands Lane, Risbury and currently has a mobile home sited there, where their 37-year-old son, Stuart, lives to gain some independence.

Herefordshire Council's Planning Committee heard their son has a lifetime disability and they are his principal carers. But as they are now getting older, their daughter could help provide care by moving into the family home, and Mr and Mrs Harcombe and their son could live in the new build.

But the council's planning officer said the application should be refused because it does not comply with planning policies as it is in open countryside and outside the settlement boundary of Risbury.

Cllr Graham Powell recommended the plan for approval and said: "Ageing parents have looked after their son for some 30-something years and they have reached a point where they need some help. To her credit, their daughter has offered to come and provide some support to the family. I think this shows tremendous commitment."

The committee heard that the parish council supported the proposal and also there was strong support in the area. In the Neighbourhood Development Plan it says that some building could be accepted in Poplars Lane, even though it is outside the boundary.

Cllr Kema Guthrie said the new build is being developed on an already developed site, and they are not looking at a "completely open field."

And Cllr Terry James said: "If we refused this we put a further burden on the care of those in the community who are not able to look after themselves. That will have a knock-on effect on others in our community."

But Cllr Elissa Swinglehurst said: "The fact remains that personal circumstances are not a material consideration in planning. You start to draw a wobbly line if you suddenly say yes when you said no to another person in different circumstances."

Cllr Anthony Powers said as a committee they should be consistent in their decisions, adding: "If we are not, the consequences are potentially very dangerous for everybody involved."

It was a close vote with seven in favour of approving the application, six against and one abstention.

Sarah Sneyd, the applicants' daughter, said: "It is a massive weight off our shoulders. We didn't know what we were going to do."