Plans to build eight homes at farm approved

Plans to build eight homes at a farm in Herefordshire have been approved after a previous application was withdrawn.

Two historic stone barns at Home Farm in Belmont will be turned into four homes while another four will be built on land nearby.

The plans first emerged in 2023 but were withdrawn that September following objections from residents and Belmont Rural Parish Council.

Concerns included potential over-development of the site and the possible harm to the historic barns, one of which, a former stables, is a Grade II-listed building.

The application was re-submitted last year by applicant Nick Taylor after the scheme was redesigned following advice from Herefordshire Council.

A planning statement submitted with the application said the barns would be converted into two three-bedroom homes and two two-bedroom homes.

Sheds to the rear of the barns would be demolished to make way for the other four homes.

Belmont Rural Parish Council agreed to support the scheme but several residents raised concerns over the impact on local infrastructure and the increase in traffic on the A465.

Approving the application, Herefordshire Council's planning officer said the scheme would bring forward eight homes at a time when the authority did not have a five-year housing land supply.

He said the development would ensure the preservation of the "redundant" historic barns by bringing them back into use.

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