Herefordshire planners rejected two separate housing schemes yesterday at the same site near Burley Gate.
The proposal for eight homes at land next to Stone Farm in Felton and the other for three homes at the farm itself were unanimously rejected by Herefordshire Council’s planning committee.
Matt Tompkins, the applicant’s agent, said the proposals were submitted to see which the committee would prefer and the scheme would use traditional stone and be of high quality design.
“Despite our best endeavours we were unable to establish a preferable option,” he said.
“A decision was taken to submit two applications. The smaller one with no affordable housing or the larger one with.”
But Giles Blackmore parish council chairman said Ocle Pychard had done its neighbourhood plan and the proposal was outside the settlement boundary.
“It is in open countryside and far from the community hall, shop and bus stops at Burley Gate,” he said.
“There is no public transport to be spoken of. The road that is to be used as access is already under severe stress by Chase Distillery which is just up the road.
“We feel it is inappropriate and out of context.”
Planning officer Andrew Banks said both schemes were unacceptable and recommended refusing them.
Referring to the 8-home scheme he said: “The scheme would not be representative of sustainable development, and as a consequence it does not benefit from the positive presumption set out in the National Planning Policy framework and core strategy.
“The continued absence of a five-year housing land supply does not outweigh this, and officers find that the modest benefits accruing from the delivery of eight dwellings, four of which will be affordable, and the landscape mitigation proposed is significantly and demonstrably outweighed by the conflict with the neighbourhood plan, and the core strategy policies.”
Both applications were unanimously rejected by the 14-member committee.
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