Plans to build 15 new houses in a Herefordshire village have been approved, five-and-a-half years after they were first put forward. But concerns remain that some will be larger than what is needed locally.

Messrs Williams & Cass applied for outline permission in summer 2018 to develop a hectare of farmland next to Wellington graveyard, near the junction with the dualled section of the A49.

The spot, on the edge of the village’s conservation area, is earmarked for housing in its development plan.

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Two two-bedroom and three three-bedroom “low-cost market” homes were proposed, to be sold to those with local connections “in the first instance”, along with four further three-bedroom and six four-bedroom houses for open market sale.

A previous scheme had already been approved for ten homes on the land, which included parking for the graveyard as its successor does not.

But then came the “moratorium” on new housebuilding in the catchment of the protected rivers Lugg and Wye, unless developments could prove they were “nutrient-neutral” – that is, would not add to water-borne pollution.

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This has now been overcome by the developer agreeing to buy “phosphate credits” from the council to offset the amount likely to be generated by the new estate.

Wellington parish council then reiterated its concerns about the potential increased risk of flooding the cemetery parking issue, and that the four-bedroom properties would not meet local need.

The parish council had asked the applicant and their agent to consider including bungalows in the scheme, “in order to provide a means for older residents in Wellington to downsize”, it added.

Planning officer Ollie Jones agreed to approve the proposal. But among the 22 conditions set is a requirement that the mix of house sizes should be “in general accord” with the Council’s latest housing needs assessment.

This, and a drainage scheme for the site, will form part of a later planning application setting out the details of the scheme.