Permission to build an “intrusive” four-bedroom bungalow by a Hereford village has been refused.

The plan, by a Mr and Mrs Brigden, was for a “modest” and “highly energy-efficient” brick-built house and garage on Chapel Lane, Cradley near the Worcestershire border.

A previous attempt to build four two-storey houses on the site was refused on grounds of over-development.

But Cradley and Storridge Parish Council also objected “strongly” to the bungalow plan, as it did not lie in the village boundary, would not be affordable housing or be used by anyone working on the land.

Nor could it be considered “of exceptional architectural quality, or truly innovative” – which would have got round restrictions in national planning policy on building in open countryside.

Rather, it “would stick out into agricultural land like a sore thumb, and is in no way in line with existing properties as is claimed in the application”, the parish council said.

RELATED NEWS:

Herefordshire Council’s planning officer was likewise “unconvinced that the proposal would deliver any positive contribution to the landscape setting”.

He considered the house’s design and its elevated siting would be “intrusive”, particularly when the large south-facing window was lit from inside.

Cradley was identified in the county’s core strategy as being a focus for new housing, he noted. But the village has already “performed relatively well” in this regard, its growth target of 103 new homes by 2031 having “almost been met already”.

And given that 17 individual letters of objection were submitted, with none in support, approval risked “negative social impacts including community goodwill”, his report added.