A plan has been approved for two large futuristic homes on the edge of Hereford.

The site, on Watery Lane off the B4399 (the Rotherwas access road below Dinedor Hill) had previous permission for two houses dating from 2006.

The replacement designs will have “improved design quality, energy efficiency and environmental sustainability”, the application says.

With three floors, the ground floor of each will house garages and utility rooms. Each will have four bedrooms and three parking spaces.

The site, in open countryside, was previously used for the storage of scrap and used cars and was previously home to a restaurant, now also being converted into a house. There is also an adjacent cottage, the Woodlands, and a well established tree belt between the site and the road.

The designs, inspired by rural barns, will have fully glazed gables facing northwest toward the city, “intended to maximise the long-range view”, while avoiding overheating in summer, the application says.

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The houses will be highly insulated and heated by biomass boilers. Sewage treatment will be by an on-site package treatment plant.

They are expected to have solar panels on the flat roofs, the surplus energy being enough to charge two electric cars doing 10,000 miles a year each.

Herefordshire Council’s planning officer called it a “high-quality sustainable design” and “a significant enhancement” over the “average” house designs previously permitted.

Lower Bullingham Parish Council also supported the plan.