ANSWERS have been demanded after a barn was knocked down in a Herefordshire village.

It comes after planning permission was granted for a Dutch barn to be converted into a house on land west of Townsend Farmhouse in Westhide in 2023.

In a design and access statement accompanying the original application, the applicants said planning permission was sought for the residential conversion of a Dutch barn with associated lean-tos, retention of a second barn for a garage, and demolition of the remaining adjoining derelict agricultural buildings on the site.

The statement described the agricultural buildings on the site as an "eyesore" and said that development would benefit the character of the area.

ALSO READ:

The applicants had previously sought to demolish all agricultural buildings on the site and build a new house with a garage and workshop, the statement said, but that application was refused.

But, minutes from Withington Group Parish Council's November meeting said, developers had then knocked down the original barn, which the minutes said was to be retained on the planning application.

The minutes said the council clerk would be verifying with the planning department that this was allowed, with minutes from the council's January meeting saying that enforcement would be heading to Westhide that month to look at "the contested barn conversion".

What are your thoughts?

You can send a letter to the editor to have your say by clicking here.

Letters should not exceed 250 words and local issues take precedence.

But the saga appears to be rumbling on, with councillors repeatedly demanding information from Herefordshire Council.

Minutes from the parish council's March meeting said enforcement had been asked about the Westhide development, and that it was thought that they had attended the site.

"But we do not know their findings despite numerous requests," the minutes said. "Clerk to chase up what they are doing about the site."