Plans for ‘Eco-hobbit-house’ put forward

Plans by a reputedly haunted Herefordshire B&B have been put forward to build and let out a “hobbit house” .

The bid by nearby resident S Harvey is to turn an abandoned reservoir at Howle Hill, near Coughton in the south of the county, into an “eco-holiday let”.

It would incorporate the remaining floor and walls of the Water Hole, a formerly covered reservoir, within woodland by the Hill House bed-and-breakfast.

It would be covered by a new curved timber-framed “green” roof, in keeping with the homes in the popular fantasy Lord of the Rings novels and films.

With just one bedroom, it “would provide a unique form of accommodation” alongside the existing B&B, and would have “minimal visual impact” on the surrounding Wye Valley area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB), the application said.

The historic B&B is already quirky, its website claiming it has “many ghosts”. TheGhostBook website documents some reported sightings of these, and notes: “The woods surrounding the house are also believed to be haunted.”

Comments on the plan, reference number 221640, can be made until June 28.