Herefordshire farm eyes overhaul to support diversification

Lower Cwmcoched Farm, a 140-acre mixed livestock and pasture farm, which also produces silage and hay, is seeking permission for a series of new and extended buildings to support its operations.

The proposals include both detached structures and extensions to existing buildings, with a total floor area of less than 1,500 square metres.

A new calf-rearing unit is planned on pasture land east of the main farmstead.

This would include four low-profile livestock buildings, a milk powder storage building, two feed silos, and a new hardstanding area.

The buildings would be constructed using steel frames, grey corrugated roofing, timber Yorkshire boarding, and merlin grey metal sheeting.

The farm currently supports around 300 breeding ewes, producing more than 400 lambs, and rears, calves, and sells about 20 heifers each year.

A planning statement said: "Insufficient space currently exists to winter house and lamb/calve all this livestock meaning livestock has to be turned out sooner than is ideal leaving them exposed to the elements and poaching the ground during the winter."

The farm is also diversifying into calf rearing, which requires purpose-built facilities to meet Defra standards.

The statement said: "There is therefore and functional need for the additional agricultural buildings on the holding and the scale of the buildings are commensurate with the needs of the holding."

The design and siting of the buildings have been chosen to minimise visual impact and integrate with the existing farmstead.

A landscaping scheme is included in the plans, featuring native hedges and trees to help screen the development and blend it into the surrounding landscape.

A decision date has been set for September 3.