Decision on sheds-to-houses plan at Breinton Farm near Hereford

A Mr Bulmer applied under so-called permitted development rights to convert the buildings at Breinton Farm two miles west of the city which were previously used for storing farm equipment, for housing cattle and for cider making.

The site is not in a conservation area, an area of outstanding natural beauty or a site of special scientific interest, his application pointed out.

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However a similar previous application was rejected in February, as the scheme was considered to go beyond what was “reasonably necessary” to convert the buildings within the rules on permitted development.

The revised design of the five “has been significantly amended to make much better use of the existing building fabric” including walls and roofs, the new application said.

But following an extraordinary meeting to debate the plan last month, Breinton parish council objected to what it described as “nothing less than a small housing estate in the middle of open countryside”.

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This went against local and county planning policy on new homes, the parish said, also putting concerns over increased traffic and the “unsustainable” location.

Waste water from the homes discharging into a nearby watercourse, coupled with increased surface water runoff, would meanwhile “likely exacerbate the flooding of existing properties”, they added.

Having inspected the existing buildings, planning officer Fay Griffiths considered that they were “not in a good state of repair” and questioned whether putting this right, along with the new materials proposed, “would amount to fresh build when considered as a whole”.

“The amount of work required to [enable the buildings] to become habitable is beyond the scope of true conversion,” and therefore also went beyond permitted development, Mrs Griffiths concluded.