A last-ditch attempt to get permission for 25 new houses by a Herefordshire village has failed.

Council planners refused outline permission for the estate, on 2.2 hectares of farmland north of Ewyas Harold, in September last year, citing problems with the proposed access to the rest of the village among other issues.

Applicant Gary Gittings then appealed against this, leading to a planning inquiry by government-appointed inspector David Reed.

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But Mr Reed has now sided with Herefordshire Council, concluding that pedestrian access from the site “would not be acceptable”.

The development “would have some adverse landscape and visual effects, particularly at first”, though “unattractive” farm buildings would be removed, he said.

And the commitment to make nine of the 25 first homes, social or affordable rented units and homes for shared ownership “would make a valuable contribution to local housing needs”.

But overall, “the need for a further up to 25 dwellings in Ewyas Harold is not clear-cut”, Mr Reed said, given that Stonewater’s 38-home Blunden Meadows development has recently been completed to the south of Elm Green Road.